He knows what social media is to some extent. And he understands the challenges that we are facing as young people in the 21st century. Looking forward to the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the 21st-century young saint.
Br Mxolisi Mashifane OP, Seminarian in KwaZulu-Natal
I'm a Dominican brother in the Vice Province of Southern Africa. What I know about Blessed Carlo Acutis is that he was a young contemporary and loved video games, and also loved coding.
His virtues, I'm inspired by his virtues, his charity, especially, his charity and love, especially to those who are disadvantaged, the poor, and that he was able to also assist those who have been bullied in school. As we know, bullying is one of the leading, what we can say, viruses, especially to young people. I'm hopeful and excited about his canonization, especially since it's going to be happening in the 21st century.
It gives me hope that in the 21st century, there is that possibility of a young person, because of how they live their life, they are able to become saints. It means that the way in which we live our lives can be or can lead us to sainthood. Unfortunately, he is not my patron saint.
However, I believe that he is an example to each and every young person. He's an example because he lived, he preached, not only preached, but lived what he preached. So I believe as a Dominican, a preacher, I can also be able to emulate him by not only preaching his words, but also by actions.
Khanyisile Ndlovu, youth ministry member, Diocese of Witbank, Mpumalanga
I find inspiration in Carlo's life, virtues, and legacy.
His dedication to his faith, his kindness, and his innovative approach to sharing the gospel with people worldwide. In the upcoming canonization of Blessed Carlos Acutis is significant for many Catholics, as it recognizes his extraordinary virtues and dedication to his faith. Carlo Acutis' legacy encourages me to deepen my faith to the Lord, as Carlo is an example to many, especially young people, to deepen their faith and use our talents to serve others.
Thank you.
Christiano Goncalo, youth member, Archdiocese of Johannesburg
I'm here today to talk about one of the best saints in the world, as you can see. I'm here to talk about Blessed Carlo Acutis, which I have chosen for my saint during my confirmation, and the reason why I chose him was because he taught me about the Eucharistic miracles, and when my mum was doing this with all our churches, she would help me, or she would ask me to help her, and while I was helping her, I would read about them, and I thought it was like, this is pretty cool, and he taught me more about the miracles that happened. He used the internet to spread the word of the Lord, because, as you know, today we are heavily into social media, and using the internet to spread the word of the Lord, I thought that was like one of the coolest things that someone could do to make it known for everyone to learn more about our Catholic faith. Another reason was because he also played PlayStation, as he was a young man, and I'm also a young man, and PlayStation is one thing that all boys can share and have a good relationship towards, because it's like playing online games and that, so I was like, that's so pretty cool.
Shakira Xavier, youth member, Archdiocese of Johannesburg
I was asked to make a short video on why I chose Carlo Acutis as my saint for my confirmation. I got confirmed at the beginning of this year, and it was last year; it was getting really close towards the end of the year. I had everything except a saint.
I googled a whole bunch of saints, I read up about a lot of them, but none of them really stood out to me, so I prayed about it, and the next day, actually, my aunt sent an article on our family group, and I don't usually open the family group messages right away, but this one, I opened as it came through, and it was a whole write-up about Carlo Acutis, and from there, I just started doing some research about him, and sort of looking into him as a person, and I can't honestly say that there was anything in particular that stood out to me, but the fact that in his generation, he was able to use the internet to share the gospel and to share the Eucharistic mysteries just stood out to me.
It was really like a wow factor to me. It just felt like an answer to my prayer, and the fact that there were so many characteristics in a lot of articles that I read, and a lot of things that people had to say about him, that really aligned with me as a person, my morals and values and beliefs. So, I spoke to my confirmation teacher, and I spoke to my priest, and then I got given the go-ahead to use him as my saint.
Yes, that is why I chose him as my saint for my Confirmation.
Mammuso Elizabeth Makoa, Whitbank Diocese
I have always been devoted to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but my journey of evangelization was profoundly shaped by Blessed Carlo Acutis. There was a time when the world seemed to stand still, when even the doors of our churches were closed, and we were separated from the Eucharist, the very presence of Christ whom we love.
At the very moment when the world most needed healing, the Eucharist was taken away from us. That experience deepened my longing and strengthened my devotion to true Christ in the Eucharist. Blessed Carlo Acutis' love for the Eucharist, his compassion, his emphasis on the last four things, death, judgment, heaven, and hell, and his mission to make the Eucharistic miracles known to the world, and his clear love for Our Lady, touched me deeply.
His example gave me the courage to dedicate my own life to sharing his deep devotion with others. That is why I began evangelizing, promoting the Vatican International Exhibition, the Eucharistic Miracles of the World, and helping people encounter the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I am humbled to serve in this way, and I pray that many more may come to experience the love of Christ in the Eucharist, just as Blessed Carlo Acutis showed us.
Blessed Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
Mr. Bokang Tsoanamatsie, Archdiocese of Maseru, Lesotho
Today, as we celebrate the upcoming canonization of our beloved, blessed Carlo Acutis, whom we had the privilege of hosting the International Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition inspired by him in our parish in November 2022, and this was one of the historic events that has ever happened in our mountain kingdom of Lesotho, and it inspired a lot of our Christians who in the past had no reverence for how they approach their blessed Eucharist.
Mrs. Mants'itsa Tsoanamatsie, Archdiocese of Maseru, Lesotho
Through this privilege, our love for the Eucharist as individuals grew immeasurably, but above all, the impact it had on our youth has been profound, where they found someone who they could relate to, someone who lived and attained such greatness in a simplistic manner during their time, such that it inspired them to love and adore the blessed Eucharist the way they ought to.
Sr. Kgomotso Majoafi, Companions of Saint Angela (CSA), Archdiocese of Johannesburg, South Africa
It's very exciting to talk about a young person who lived in our time, who loved the Eucharist, who promoted the Catholic faith on the internet, and made sure that he catalogued all the Eucharistic miracles that happened worldwide, so that all of us can be able to see them and believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. And that was the aim of blessed Carlo Acutis, to ensure that we understood what the Eucharist was and the power that is in the Eucharist, because it is Christ himself who is present in the Eucharist.
Now, blessed Carlo Acutis lived a normal life like any of us, but he was very devoted to the blessed sacraments, and he had beautiful virtues that he displayed, and one of those virtues was the virtue of prudence, and that was seen in how he used social media, how he used the internet to promote the Catholic faith and to advance devotion to the Eucharist. And that is one thing that we need to aim to do as young people this very day, that we use the internet to help people grow in their faith, to help people grow in their love of God, and not to bully others. He used social media to educate, and I think that is what we ought to do during this time and age that we live in.
And I'm very excited about his upcoming canonization, because he is a saint for our time. He was a young person who lived during our time, and he is widely known to be a millennial saint. We need to be able to see the life that he lived and try to emulate him.
We need to make him really up to date as young people, so that he intercedes for us to have the same love that he had for the Eucharist.
Neo Malekane from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg
I'm excited about the canonization of the Blessed Carlo, because he inspired us as millennials. I am a millennial, and he inspired the Ministry of Technology, as he was big in that. The most important thing that I can take out of his ministry is his love for the Eucharist.
For me, my favorite part of Mass or being Catholic is the adoration that we practice as Catholics, and the beauty that comes with the Eucharist and the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. So, I'm excited, we are excited as the Archdiocese of Johannesburg to have such a young person canonized. Thank you!
Lesedi Mathibeli from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg
My take on Blessed Carlo is that you should stay put in your faith. As a young child, he was bullied a lot, and what he would say is that Jesus would not be happy if I lost my temper.
So, to all the young people across the globe, please stand in your faith, and whenever you are fought or you are provoked, make sure to stand in your faith, and also say that Jesus would not be happy if I lost my temper. I'm also looking forward to his canonization taking place on the 7th of September 2025.
Lesedi Tsoaeli, from the Archdiocese of Johannesburg
When I heard about the canonization of Blessed Carlos, I was very excited, because as young people, it teaches us to have a balance in life, because as much as he was into technology, he was also in touch with his Christian life, being the Eucharist. And I also like the fact that even after the death of Pope Francis, Pope Leo was able to let it go ahead.
Lone Botshelo, the chairperson of the Diocese of Gaborone Youth & Young Adults Ministry in Botswana
I'm super excited for the upcoming canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, who's going to be our first millennial saint. Carlo had a profound devotion to the Eucharist, and he wanted others to believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He actually used his digital skills to create a website that exhibited a lot of Eucharistic miracles, because he believed that the scientific backing of these miracles could actually help people learn and believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
This was a teenage boy using his skills and creativity to bring about conversion in the hearts of so many people. His story is truly inspirational and challenges us young people all over the world to not only believe in Christ, but use our creativity, our talents, our skills to take Christ to others, to bring about that conversion, to spread the gospel. And with the digital world evolving so much from the World Wide Web to social media to content creation to AI-powered solutions and everything in between, the onus is on us, young people, to use these innovations and our creativity to take others to Christ.
Botlhale Botshelo, the vice-secretary of the Diocese of Gaborone in Botswana