Saint Carlo Acutis, a Life Close to Jesus

Saint Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents, Andrea and Antonia. Later that year, his family moved to Milan, where he grew up. As a child, Carlo developed a deep love for Jesus and eagerly prepared for his First Holy Communion, which he received at seven years old.

The Eucharist became the center of his life. He made daily Mass his practice, spent time in Eucharistic adoration, and prayed the Rosary. He described the Eucharist as his “highway to Heaven.” Alongside this devotion, Carlo enjoyed football, video games, playing the saxophone, and making films of his pets. His days brought together schoolwork, friendship, prayer, and service.

Carlo had a particular gift for computers. He helped others use them and put his skills at the service of his faith. He developed an exhibition documenting Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Church, combining photographs and historical accounts to help people learn about the Eucharist. The technology he enjoyed became a means of sharing his love for Christ.

His charity also took practical forms. Carlo volunteered at soup kitchens, helped children with their homework, and assisted people in need around his neighborhood. He taught catechism and made time for others amid his own studies and interests.

In October 2006, Carlo became seriously ill with acute leukemia. As his condition worsened, he offered his suffering to God for the pope and the Church. He received the Anointing of the Sick and died in Monza on October 12, aged fifteen.

On September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati. His feast day is October 12. Carlo’s brief life continues to show how holiness can grow through ordinary duties, friendship, generosity, and faithful love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

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Saint John Henry Newman, Following the Light

Saint John Henry Newman

In 1833, John Henry Newman was returning to England after a serious illness in Sicily. His ship lay becalmed in the Strait of Bonifacio. During the voyage, he wrote the poem that became known as “Lead, Kindly Light,” a prayer asking God to guide him through uncertainty. Years later, he recalled both his longing for home and his conviction that he had work to do in England.

Born in London on February 21, 1801, Newman had grown up in an Anglican family. He studied at Oxford, became a fellow of Oriel College, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 1825. As vicar of the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, he became an influential preacher. Alongside friends such as John Keble and Edward Pusey, he helped lead the Oxford Movement, seeking to renew Anglican life through the teaching and practices of the ancient Church.

Yet his study of the Church Fathers gradually challenged his opposition to Catholicism. At Littlemore, near Oxford, he spent years studying, praying, and discerning. On October 9, 1845, the Passionist priest Dominic Barberi received him into the Catholic Church. The decision cost him friendships and strained family relationships, but Newman later described his conversion as “coming into port after a rough sea.”

Ordained a Catholic priest in Rome in 1847, Newman established an Oratorian community near Birmingham the following year. His life joined scholarship with pastoral service. He ministered to poor immigrants and factory workers and served as the first rector of the Catholic University of Ireland.

In 1879, Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal. Newman chose the motto Cor ad cor loquitur, meaning “Heart speaks to heart.” He remained at the Birmingham Oratory until his death on August 11, 1890.

Pope Francis canonized him on October 13, 2019. On November 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church. His feast is celebrated on October 9, the anniversary of the day his long search brought him into Catholic communion.

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