CV NEWS FEED // Catholics at a unique church in the Archdiocese of Chicago are now joyfully celebrating in the wake of news that their patron is to be canonized.
Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish is the only Catholic church in the Western Hemisphere dedicated to the soon-to-be saint, a Millennial who died of leukemia at age 15 in 2012.
According to a June 12 local report from Chicago Catholic, parishioners are now rejoicing as the prospect of their patron’s canonization approaches.
“I thought it was really incredible,” 15 year-old parishioner Tristan Daley told Chicago Catholic. Daley chose Acutis as his patron for confirmation in 2023, and he has plans to visit his tomb in Assisi this summer, according to the report.
“The specific reason I chose him was that he was able to dedicate himself to God in modern life, to really focus on becoming a saint,” he said. “When I think of saints, I think of these super-religious people from a long time ago.”
Widely known for his keen interest in video games and computers, Blessed Acutis is known as “God’s influencer.”
Daley told Chicago Catholic that part of the reason Blessed Acutis appealed to him as a patron was that the young Italian Blessed led a remarkable, yet similar life to his own.
Acutis went to school, played sports and video games, hung out with friends, and had an incredible devotion to Jesus.
“That’s why he seemed so holy to me,” Daley said. “He was able to still be a normal kid.”
“We’re all able to find time for God,” he added.
The parish’s logo is a Eucharist contained in a monstrance, symbolizing the young Blessed’s dedication to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. The name “Carlo” is spelled out in binary code around the edges of the monstrance.
As CatholicVote previously reported, Pope Francis recognized a second miraculous occurrence needed to advance Acutis’ canonization on May 23, 2024. The second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession occurred in 2022 after a Costa Rican woman, Lilliana Valverde, went to his tomb to pray for her daughter, who was miraculously healed the next day.
