St Carlo Acutis: video games, computers and faith

A boy hides in a cupboard with his friend Lorenzo, then jumps out shouting “Boo!” and startles the maths teacher. That same boy makes Andrea, the classmate everyone leaves out, feel welcome. It’s Carlo Acutis. Sister Monica Ceroni, his secondary-school religion teacher, shared these memories publicly in 2025. Suddenly the fifteen-year-old saint is a real boy you’d like to get to know.

Born in London, raised in Milan

Carlo was born in London on 3 May 1991, while his parents Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano were there for work. The family moved to Milan that September. He attended local schools and entered the Leone XIII classical secondary school at fourteen. With special permission, he received his First Communion on 16 June 1998, aged just seven.

From then on, Mass, adoration and the Rosary became regular appointments. The saying widely attributed to him captures it: “The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven.” Catholics understand the Eucharist as the memorial of Christ’s Passover and his living presence. For Carlo, it was the centre of everything.

A computer whizz with a heart switched on

Carlo loved music, video games and computing. With an engineering student he built the Santa Maria Segreta parish website, then one for the Pontifical Academy Cultorum Martyrum. He also helped prepare young people for Confirmation. During a school volunteering project in summer 2006, he worked on another website. His teacher, Father Roberto Gazzaniga, remembered him as well integrated into class life and always willing to help.

His best-known project? An exhibition about Eucharistic miracles recognised by the Catholic Church. He researched, organised and published the material online, explaining how the Church had recognised each event. Today the website offers several languages and contacts for hosting the exhibition.

His mother Antonia remembers him working late, even on holiday. He noticed how much attention concerts and sport received compared with the tabernacle. He wanted others to discover what mattered so much to him.

Friendship for those who didn’t have a friend yet

Helping with homework. Visiting the Capuchin and Mother Teresa soup kitchens. Noticing neighbours in difficulty. That was Carlo too. Rajesh Mohur, who worked in the Acutis household, remembers their outings to help poor people and the presents Carlo gave up to save money for them. He says Carlo’s example helped draw him towards Christianity.

These details take Carlo beyond the familiar holy picture. His care for others had real names, places and occasions.

Fifteen years, and then Heaven

Carlo developed leukaemia in October 2006. Treated in Milan and Monza, he died on 12 October, aged fifteen. His funeral was held in his parish on 14 October. His courage doesn’t make the loss of such a young life less painful.

Pope Francis discussed Carlo’s use of digital media in Christus vivit in 2019. He was beatified in Assisi on 10 October 2020 after a healing in Brazil was recognised. The second miracle concerned a young Costa Rican woman seriously injured in a cycling accident in Florence in 2022. The decree concerning the second miracle was authorised on 23 May 2024.

On 7 September 2025, Leo XIV canonised him alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati in St Peter’s Square. Carlo now rests in Assisi’s Sanctuary of the Spoliation. His liturgical memorial is 12 October; 2026 marks twenty years since his death. Want to know him beyond the slogans? Start with the memories of a friend, a teacher or someone he helped.