Here’s something to give all of hope: an interview with the mother of Carlo Acutis, who will be beatified this fall.
From CNA:
While most Catholic mothers pray for their teenage sons, Antonia Acutis has the unique ability to pray to hers, the soon-to-be-beatified Italian teenager Carlo Acutis.
Carlo will be beatified October 10 in Assisi, Italy. His canonization cause has been popularized not only due to his young testament to holiness before he died of leukemia at age 15, but also because of his adeptness with technology. At age 14, he designed a website to share his great love for the Eucharist.
At first, his mother did not know what to do with such an intelligent and fervent young boy.
“I was not the ideal model of a Catholic mother,” Antonia told CNA.
Like many, Antonia’s faith was formed by a culture of Catholicism. But Carlo’s example challenged her, and she reached out to a faithful friend for advice. Antonia’s friend connected her with a priest, who encouraged her to take classes to further her Catholic faith.
Before that, she “was quite ignorant in the faith things,” she told CNA.
Through the working of a priest she met through her classes, Carlo was able to receive his first Holy Communion at just seven years old– after which he never missed daily Mass, even while their family traveled.
Carlo’s love for the Eucharist formed his mother’s own devotion to the Sacrament.
“The source of the sanctity of Carlo was the Eucharist. He used to say the Eucharist is my highway to heaven,” said Antonia.
Nicola Gori, the postulator of Acutis’ cause for sainthood, said that Carlos loved God in such a way that invited others, especially those closest to him, to share in the Eucharistic feast.
