Blessed Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 - 12 October 2006) was born in London and raised in Italy. His parents were not especially devout. However, from the time that Carlo made his First Communion, he rarely missed daily Mass. He also began to pray a daily rosary. A tech whiz, he taught himself coding around the age of nine, and went on to create a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles.
Carlo was distressed when heard people deny the existence of hell. "If souls really run the risk of damning themselves, as indeed so many saints have testified and as the apparitions of Fatima have confirmed, I wonder why, today, we hardly ever talk about hell, because it's such a terrible and dreadful thing that I'm scared just to think about it."
Carlo's father noted, "he always had in mind that we will all have to die one day.... When we spoke to him about a project for the future, he replied: 'Yes, if we are still alive tomorrow...for only God knows the future.'" At fifteen, Carlo became suddenly ill with leukemia. Before even knowing how serious it was, Carlo offered all his sufferings for the pope, the Church, and the intention that he go straight to heaven without pausing in purgatory. He died less that two weeks later, ans was beatified in 2020.
His feast day is 12 October.
Magnificat, November 2022, Vol. 24, No.9, 201.