Blessed Carlo Acutis is an amazingly written book that details the life of a young man named Carlo Acutis, who was beatified in 2020. Author Sabrina Arena Ferrisi begins the book by laying out a step-by-step plan of how and why the Catholic Church investigates who is in heaven. Ferrisi continues by showing what made the Church decide to start investigating Carlo’s life.
The book is split into 15 chapters that cover things like Carlo’s life on earth, his devotion to God and the Eucharist, and the sudden illness that led to his death at age 15. In addition, each chapter has different sections that talk about a specific part of Carlo’s life, including his passion for computer programming and how he would use computers to spread the Catholic faith.
At age 11, Carlo began a project that combined his two loves in life: the Eucharist and computers. Carlo loved the Eucharist so much that he decided to research all the Eucharistic miracles around the world throughout history. He used his knowledge and expertise of computer programming to create a website about these Eucharistic miracles. He spent four years working on his website, and it has now been translated into 17 languages. It also became a traveling exhibit, which was able to journey to 10,000 parishes and five continents after Carlo died.
I didn’t really have a favorite part of the book because it was all so good. However, one part that I really liked was reading about Carlo’s devotion to God. I love it when I hear that young people adore God and put Him first in their lives. Carlo’s interest in God started when he was young, and he would often ask his mom, Antonia, questions about Him. Antonia wanted to be able to answer his questions, so she would go to a priest she knew for the answers. While learning about the Catholic faith to be able answer Carlo’s questions, she rediscovered her faith and started going to church again.
Carlo is not the typical example of someone who has been beatified. It’s interesting to think that he lived to see the Internet and computers and the technology of the 21st century. Carlo was even alive when I was born, and to me, that’s amazing because I was able to share the earth with a person as incredible as Carlo.
I recommend this book for everyone, but especially young people because Carlo was a good example of how young kids should live their lives. Ferrisi details Carlo’s life in such a great way that you feel as if you knew him personally. As you read, you’ll find that Carlo was an amazing young man who lived his life with God at the center of everything. When you live like Carlo did, it’s easy to understand how he was so happy and so kind to everyone all the time.
Blessed Carlo Acutis: The Amazing Discovery of a Teenager in Heaven by Sabrina Arena Ferrisi; Holy Heroes Books 2022; 128 pages; $18.95 (Paperback)
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