Carlo Acutis: Asia looks to the first millennial saint
The canonisation of the young man who lived between 1991 and 2006 and used the internet to spread the faith will take place tomorrow in St Peter's, together with Piergiorgio Frassati. Some of his relics are also travelling to Asian countries, where his peers are getting to know him. A ‘great message of hope’ for young Koreans preparing for the next World Youth Day. In Bangkok, young people say: ‘He is one of us.’ A new seminary named after him in Laos.
Rome (AsiaNews) - Tomorrow the world will have its first millennial saint, the Italian Carlo Acutis (1991-2006).
The young man - who will be canonised together with Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati by Pope Leo XIV in the Jubilee year, after the postponement of the ceremony that Bergoglio was supposed to preside over last April - will be the patron saint of the internet, due to his surprising computer skills, which he shared with those who asked for his help.
In his short but intense life, he used the web to spread the faith. And his story is spreading across the world: a relic of the young man born in London but raised in Milan is also travelling through Asia, attracting many people in prayer and devotion.
Since his death in Monza on 12 October 2006, at the age of only 15, from an incurable form of leukaemia, Carlo Acutis' message has spread across the web, with numerous international Facebook groups dedicated to him, inspiring young people on every continent.
His life inspires the same Christian youth worldwide who gathered last August in Rome for the Youth Jubilee. And who in 2027 will be called to the next World Youth Day in Seoul. The relic - a lock of hair - began its Asian journey in the Korean capital in November 2024. Since then, it has never stopped, giving the faithful the opportunity to reflect on his life and charisma. This week, Thailand is welcoming this sign of the new saint.
As reported by Licas, in recent days hundreds of young Thai Catholics and others have flocked to St. Louis Church in Bangkok to venerate the relic of Carlo Acutis. Among them are those who visited the tomb of the young blessed in Assisi - at the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, where his mortal remains have rested since 2019 - during their trip to Italy to participate in the Jubilee events.
‘He is one of us,’ said an 11-year-old girl who had come to visit. One of the future saint's major commitments was curating an exhibition dedicated to Eucharistic miracles, which was also displayed in Asia, as well as in countries on all continents.
‘The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven,’ Carlo Acutis used to say. But he was also a ‘normal’ teenager who loved Pokémon characters and played PlayStation. His testimony touches today's Asian youth because of his ability to unite the digital world with faith in God.
Monsignor Kim Jong-kang, in charge of the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul for the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference, shared a message on the occasion of tomorrow's canonisation. ‘This event has great significance for our young people living in the digital age,’ he said. Carlo Acutis is described as ‘a man of God in modern clothes,’ and it is recalled that at the point of death he offered his suffering to the Lord for the Pope and for the Church.
In a world that is seeing rapid advances in digital technology, Acutis used the new media ‘to draw closer to God rather than as a means of entertainment or consumption,’ he emphasises. On the occasion of the canonisation, the Korean Church is holding educational and spiritual events in every diocese dedicated to the first saint of Generation Y, as a ‘great message of hope for our young people living in the digital age,’ he says.
The canonisation, adds Monsignor Kim Jong-kang, represents a ‘challenge’ and a ‘great hope’ for the evangelisation of young people in the Church of South Korea. First of all, because, despite his young age, ‘Blessed Carlo Acutis showed that even in the daily life of adolescence it is possible to put God first’.
Secondly, because he taught that following the Lord ‘is a mission suited to the digital age.’ Young Koreans - about 1,500 of whom were present in Rome for the Youth Jubilee, where they received the baton for World Youth Day - are renowned worldwide for their potential in the field of technology. This ‘can be used as a tool for evangelisation,’ he adds. Finally, Acutis also teaches ‘the importance of a life of faith centred on the Eucharist.’
St. Carlo Acutis' ‘journey’ in Asia will continue even after his canonisation. The Philippine Church has announced that it will host the relic of his pericardium, preserved in Assisi, from 28 November to 15 December 2025. This ‘precious gift’ - as it is described in the note - was confirmed by Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, Bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino. The relic is entrusted to the care of the ‘Friends of Blessed Carlo Acutis Philippines’ group.
‘This historic visit is a moment of renewal and celebration for the Philippine Church, especially for our young people and families, who are invited to encounter the witness of the young saint who reminds us that the Eucharist is truly our “highway to Heaven”,’ he continues. "This is just another of the seeds sown in Asia by the blessed life of Carlo Acutis. A saint of young people around the world, who – as Pope Francis recalls in his apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit – ‘knew how to use new communication technologies to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values and beauty.’
Finally, another significant sign is the fact that Carlo Acutis will be named after the new minor seminary that has just opened in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which currently hosts nine boys of his age, an important seed for this small local Church: ‘We trust and hope in Carlo Acutis' intercession for our small community and for our young people,’ the Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane, Monsignor Anthony Adoun Hongsaphong, told Fides.
"Acutis is a role model and can be a valuable source of inspiration for our young people. His faith and his profound Eucharistic devotion, which is ultimately a Eucharistic life, make him an example that we point to for Laotian young people. We hope that the shining example of Acutis will bear fruits of holiness and the gift of new priests for our Church."
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