In the hilltop town of Assisi, long sanctified by the barefoot steps of St. Francis, a new kind of saint is drawing pilgrims from around the world—including Asia, where Christianity is a minority.
His name is Blessed Carlo Acutis, and though he lived only 15 years, his legacy is echoing powerfully among today’s youth.
I am here on Holy Wednesday, April 16, standing before his glass tomb in the Sanctuary of the Renunciation, located in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, just minutes away from the basilicas of St. Francis and St. Clare in Assisi, Italy.
Blessed Carlo’s incorruptible body, clad in jeans, sneakers, and a casual jacket, lies in serene repose.
Around me, a constant stream of young visitors—several of them from Asia, particularly the Philippines—paused in silence and prayed.
Their devotion is not surprising. Carlo Acutis speaks their language—the language of the digital age, yet rooted in the timeless truths of the Eucharist, holiness, and compassion.
“I follow Carlo on Instagram,” shares Tanaka, 18, from Japan. “He loved God, but he also loved the internet. He makes being Catholic feel exciting.”
Others agree. Miguel, 17, from the Philippines, traveled here with his parents. He proudly points to the quote on his hoodie:
“The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”
“He went to Mass daily, built websites, and loved video games. That balance—it gives us hope,” Miguel says.
Many of them visited the Basilica of St. Francis, where frescoes tell another saint’s story. But when asked which experience they found more personal, they pointed to this sanctuary—modest in stone, rich in grace.
A few pilgrims from South Korea, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia were also among those I saw today—most, if not all, are visiting Italy and planning to spend Holy Week in Rome.
They left flowers, notes with prayer intentions. Each one, in their own way, sought connection with a teen who made holiness feel not distant, but doable.
“He gives me courage,” says Jiwoo, a 19-year-old college student from Seoul. “He reminds me that the internet can be used for good—for evangelization. For love.”
Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Carlo Acutis learned coding by age nine and used his digital gifts to catalog Eucharistic miracles online.
He was cheerful, simple, and deeply Eucharistic—attending daily Mass and praying the rosary faithfully.
When leukemia claimed his life in 2006, Carlo offered his suffering for the Church and for the Pope. He was beatified in 2020 and called the “Cyber Apostle of the Eucharist.”
This month, the world will witness a moment of grace: Blessed Carlo will be canonized as a saint on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at St. Peter’s Square—just a week after Easter Sunday.
It will be a historic first: a saint born in the 1990s, raised in a digital world, and embraced by a global Church.
As I leave the Sanctuary of the Renunciation, the words of one Asian teen echo in my heart:
“Carlo Acutis didn’t just show how to live—he showed us how to live well for God.”
In an age where noise often drowns out the divine, this teenager reminds us that sanctity is still within reach—even behind a computer screen.
From Assisi, with awe and gratitude, I join the young and old who believe Carlo’s story is just beginning. And as Asia joins the world preparing to celebrate his canonization, the Church’s future looks brighter, younger, and more connected than ever.
Chainarong Monthienvichienchai is the former president of Unda – International Catholic Association for Radio and Television – and Thailand’s first Knight Grand Cross of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great.
