On September 7, 2025, the Catholic Church will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis—a young, tech-savvy layperson whose brief life is now a radiant model of sanctity for our digital and globalized age. For Catholic professionals and lay leaders striving to bring their faith into the public square, this canonization is more than a celebration; it’s a signpost for how ordinary Catholics can live extraordinary lives of holiness and mission.
Carlo Acutis died in 2006 at the age of 15 from leukemia, but in his short life, he made a profound impact. He used his talent for technology to evangelize—most notably creating a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles around the world. While he lived in modern Milan, he embodied the timeless truths of the Church with joy, simplicity, and courage. His deep devotion to the Eucharist, love for the poor, and use of media for evangelization captured the spirit of the New Evangelization envisioned by Pope John Paul II and continued by his successors.
What makes Carlo’s canonization so significant for lay Catholic leaders is that he represents the Church’s growing recognition that holiness is not confined to the clergy or religious. Carlo was not a priest, a monk, or a missionary in a distant land—he was a teenager, a student, a computer enthusiast. His sainthood affirms that ordinary laypeople, living in the secular world, can become saints by living their faith authentically and courageously.
For Catholic professionals, this canonization is an invitation to reimagine leadership as a path to sanctity. Carlo’s life teaches that leadership does not require a formal title or a massive platform; it starts with integrity, love of truth, and a willingness to use one’s gifts in service of others. Whether you're an entrepreneur, educator, policymaker, artist, or engineer, your daily work can become a form of evangelization when it is rooted in prayer, guided by virtue, and directed toward the common good.
Moreover, Carlo's digital apostolate is especially relevant in today’s world, where technology shapes culture and identity. His example challenges Catholic leaders to be present in the digital world not as passive consumers, but as active witnesses of truth and hope. His life is a reminder that holiness is compatible with innovation, and that new media can be a powerful tool for spreading the Gospel.
As we celebrate his canonization, Blessed Carlo Acutis reminds us that sainthood is not an abstract ideal. It is a real, attainable calling for laypeople engaged in the world. His witness inspires us to integrate faith and leadership, to pursue excellence with humility, and to bring Christ into every corner of society—not someday, but today.
Carlo once said, "The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven." May his canonization open new “highways” of holiness for lay leaders everywhere, and awaken in each of us the conviction that we are called to nothing less than sainthood, right where we are.
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