Being three minutes late was all it took to change Patrick Magat’s life.
Magat and seven other members of his church group had made it to the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi last September during a tour of Italy, but they were turned away at 7:03 p.m. from viewing the body of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Closing time was 7 p.m. sharp.
Rather than leaving with the rest of the church group, Magat and his aunt stayed overnight in Assisi to venerate Acutis the following day.
“Something told me that this was about more than a visit,” Magat recalled.
Turns out that it was.
Magat, who oversees livestreaming of Sunday Masses at Christ the King Church in Hollywood, had become interested in Acutis’ life after Pope Francis beatified him on Oct. 10, 2020.
That and Magat’s experience in Assisi inspired him to bring an exhibition to Christ the King that is based on a website Acutis created that catalogs the 100-plus Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Catholic Church.
Much like Acutis’ faith grew during his brief life, the exhibition has caught fire and will be traveling to more than 30 other parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles through next spring, fueled by growing interest in Acutis’ life at a time when the National Eucharistic Revival is in full swing.
“We never expected so many parishes to say yes to hosting the exhibit — that was something surprising to all of us,” said Father Juan Ochoa, pastor of Christ the King and director of the archdiocese’s Office for Divine Worship.
Maybe not so surprising considering Acutis’ life story.
After Acutis was beatified, interest grew in a website he created that catalogs Eucharistic miracles throughout the ages and around the world.
Acutis, a gamer and computer programmer born in London and raised in Italy, was 15 when he died of leukemia in 2006. He was devoted to serving the poor, and his deep faith led to the conversion of his family and sent him on pilgrimages to the birthplaces of saints and the sites of Eucharistic miracles.
Acutis asked to be buried in Assisi because of his love for St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of the poor. The teenager was known for buying sleeping bags for the homeless and giving away what money he had.
And Acutis was passionate about the holy Eucharist.
“The more often we receive the Eucharist,” Acutis wrote on his website, “the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this Earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
The Eucharistic miracles Acutis chronicled consist of unexplainable phenomena such as consecrated hosts bleeding. Some Catholic saints reportedly survived for years on nothing but the holy Eucharist.
Although the exhibit has already been hosted at more than 3,000 parishes worldwide, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is believed to be the first diocese in California to host it, Ochoa said.
The exhibit debuted on June 11 at Christ the King, and will be featured in July at St. Columbkille Church and nearby Nativity Church in South Los Angeles, then at St. John Chrysostom Church in Inglewood before moving on to other parishes.
Acutis is nicknamed the “millennial saint” because of his youth and computer skills. Although he loved to play video games like “Halo” on his PlayStation, he reportedly limited himself to an hour of gaming a week….
From Angelus News
Blessed Carlo Acutis is a tremendous role model for young people to follow. Someone in Hollywood should make a movie about Carlo’s life.
Ask Disney.
“…he reportedly limited himself to an hour of gaming a week… ” Anyone possessed with that much discipline must have been very close to the Almighty…and his love for the poor and the Poverello. You are a real inspiration, Carlo!
A sign of hope for the generations after. St. Carlo Acutis pray for my grandchildren and me.
My mistake, it is Blessed Carlo Acutis. He has not been declared a saint yet.
Nothing against Carlo, but I’ve seen the exhibit and it’s terribly boring. 50 or so posterboards set up on tables that have paragraph after paragraph for you to read. Boring. Would be better as a website so you can view from home and don’t have to feel compelled to read everything in one sitting or visit.
Acutis applied himself to creating a website dedicated to cataloging each reported Eucharistic miracle in the world. He completed this in 2005, having started compiling the catalog at the age of eleven. He admired Giacomo Alberione’s initiatives to use the media to evangelize and proclaim the Gospel and aimed to do likewise with the website he had created.
From wikipedia
It is not “boring” to mature, true Catholics, who love the Holy Eucharist, who deeply appreciate the great work of this young and holy Italian boy, Blessed Carlo Acutis. If you had a child in school of Blessed Carlo Acutis’ age, when he did this great and beautiful work for Our Lord— you would be stunned, awe-stricken, deeply moved! Blessed Carlo explained to others, that the Holy Eucharist is our “Highway to Heaven,” and encouraged his parents, family and friends to go to Mass, and receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. Blessed Carlo converted his own parents to return to the practice of their Catholic Faith. His mother wrote a beautiful book about her son’s inspiring life. Blessed Carlo was a very unusual boy, deeply blessed by God, with a great and inspiring love and reverence for Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It is a source of inspiration for all of us, to follow Blessed Carlo, and go on his beautiful, holy “Highway to Heaven,” with deep love and respect for Jesus. Like Blessed Carlo, we must allow Our Lord to transform our lives, in reception of Holy Communion
Where can we find a list of churches who will be hosting this exhibit in Los Angeles County.
Is the body of Blessed” Mr. Acutis incorrupt?
The article’s photo implies that is the case.
His body was not incorrupt.
What we see is a mannequin covering his remains.
This info is per CNA, Oct. 1, 2020.
Apologies but Angelus News is wrong in this regard. Diocese of Stockton’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Modesto put up the exhibit on June 10th, one day before Christ the King.
Only Boomers would think it takes “computer skills” to make a website.
From the look of the many junky websites, genius is not required.