Millennial saint-in-waiting inspires today’s Catholic youth
Maria Rego and Zane Mason
He’s on the brink of becoming one of our youngest-ever saints—the first from the millennial generation—laid to rest in his glass crypt in Assisi, Italy, wearing sneakers and jeans!
Only fifteen when he passed away from cancer in 2006, the Italian teenager’s canonisation is set to take place in Rome in late April.
He will be a saint from our times for our times. The growing worldwide interest in Acutis has made him the subject of books, documentaries, stained-glass windows, statues, and countless online stories and articles. He has even inspired a comic book and an animated film.
Acutis was an adolescent of profound faith and devotion and a computer prodigy—a rare blend of the cross and coding. The teenager created a renowned website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions worldwide.
His story resonates especially with our tech-savvy generations, and one of the younger Catholics inspired by Carlo’s legacy is the Archdiocese’s Zane Mason, a 22-year-old parish youth coordinator.
Zane admitted he hadn’t heard of Blessed Acutis until his beatification in 2020. However, he found it intriguing that one of Acutis’s relics was a PlayStation controller. That instantly hit home for Zane, who is studying software engineering and design. Zane also connected with Acutis’s love of cartoons and video games—interests they shared.
“The bond was cemented when I found out Acutis was a big fan of Saint Francis of Assisi, who was my confirmation saint,” Zane said.
But Acutis’s influence on Zane went deeper.
Blessed Acutis will be a great role model for younger Catholics, Zane believes, because the saint-to-be knew when enough was enough, he knew how to say ‘no’.
Blessed Carlo Acutis was beatified at St Francis’ Basilica Assisi 2020
“He loved video games,” said Zane. “[But] he knew that if he gave too much attention to them, he would eventually…fade from his faith. “It’s amazing that, at such a young age, he already had his priorities right regarding his faith.”
For 17-year-old Maria Rego, another young Catholic from our Archdiocese, Acutis’s self-restraint also struck a chord.
“Our generation is very different,” Maria said. “We’re the first generation to have, in a sense, exposure to the whole world through technology.
“It’s so easy to get distracted and stray from putting God first in your life. Sometimes, it becomes challenging—I have friends, and we all go through that.
“But I think it’s important to understand that God has given us everything to benefit us. We see the self-restraint that God asks us to practice,” Maria said.
Zane added that what also makes Acutis compelling is that he will be a saint of the here and now, unlike many saints from religious books and history texts whose lives can feel distant or otherworldly.
Zane is struck that Acutis was still alive just years ago.
“He’s a big inspiration and relatable,” he said. “In an age where that’s hard to find in the Catholic Church.”