Trip of a Lifetime: Teens from Our Lady of the Pines will travel to Rome for canonization of Carlo Acutis

by William J. Dagendesh

PHOTO: Blessed Carlo Acutis is pictured in an undated photo. He will be canonized on April 27 as part of the 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations in Rome. (OSV News photo/courtesy Sainthood Cause of Carlo Acutis)

COLORADO SPRINGS. A young Italian website designer will be canonized on April 27 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for using his computer skills to praise God and spread devotion to the Eucharist.

Carlo Acutis created a website dedicated to cataloguing every reported Eucharistic miracle in the world and maintained a list of the approved Marian apparitions of the Catholic Church.

Father Matt Kane, parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Pines Parish, will accompany 24 teens and 17 adults on a week-long pilgrimage to attend the Blessed Acutis’ canonization, which will take place during the April 25-27 Jubilee for Adolescents in Rome. As an added bonus, the trip comes at little or no cost to the teens thanks to an appeal made by Father Brad Noonan, pastor of Our Lady of the Pines. 

“We are blessed with a very generous parish and are taking around 40 people to Rome. I have been to Rome and am looking forward to sharing the experience and spiritual richness with the teens,” Father Kane said.

Stacy Paris, who directs the parish’s high school ministry and will also accompany the group, learned about Blessed Carlo through his story of faith and his impact on digital evangelization, and through Father Noonan’s enthusiasm about his work.

Born May 3, 1991 to Andrea Acutis and Antonio Salzano in London, Carlo Acutis was known for his cheerfulness and devotion to the Eucharist. He demonstrated to young people that they matter in the life of the Catholic Church.

Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs inspired Carlo to embrace computers. Carlo was 14 when his parish priest asked him to create a webpage for Santa Maria Segreta in Milan. Later, his high school priest asked him to design a website to promote volunteerism. Carlo launched the website in 2004 and captured a national competition award.

His Eucharistic miracles website, which provides descriptions of 187 miracles and took Acutis two and half years to build, was unveiled on Oct. 4, 2006, on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. However, Carlo was hospitalized for leukemia and unable to attend the debut of his exhibition at Rome’s Church of San Carlo Borromeo. His high school, Leo XIII Institute, also held an exhibition. Carlo died on Oct. 12, 2006 at age 15 in Monza, Italy.

Pope Francis beatified Carlo on Oct. 10, 2020. On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession, paving the way for his canonization. The miracle occurred in 2022, when a Costa Rican woman named Valeria fell off her bike and suffered a brain hemorrhage with little chance of survival.

Valeria’s mother visited Carlo’s tomb and prayed for him to intercede. Later that day, Valeria began breathing independently and walked the next day. All evidence of her hemorrhage had disappeared.

Carlo also is credited with healing a 7-year-old Brazilian boy from a rare pancreatic disorder, and with healing a university student in Florence who suffered head trauma.

“Carlo is being canonized because of his devotion to God, charitable works and a recognized miracle attributed to his intercession. While he is one of the youngest modern saints, he is not the first child of his age to be canonized,” Paris said.

As Paris began organizing the pilgrimage, the original plan was to have the teens pay one half of the cost of the trip — about $1,900 — with the parish covering the other half.

However, in just one weekend of Father Noonan speaking at all Masses and making an appeal on behalf of the teens, an additional $48,400 was raised, allowing the parish to cover the entire cost of the trip.

“Father Brad spoke at each Mass one weekend and the generosity that came from the parish in prayers and financially was overwhelming,” Paris said.

“His talk was on supporting the teens, and how this is a once in a lifetime, life-changing trip. The money raised is allowing us to take the teens at no cost to them,” Paris said.

The trip includes a day trip to Assisi with a pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of the basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, and participating in Jubilee Year events. Everyone is excited to begin their journey to celebrate Carlo and grow in their faith, Paris said.

“What this (trip) does to our Catholic community is allows teens to strengthen teens. They are growing in faith and friendship, and are now supporting each other outside of the parish,” she said.

Father Noonan said words can’t express his appreciation and gratitude for the generosity of parishioners who went above and beyond to pay for each teen to attend the Canonization.

“Our parishioners consistently follow the example of Phoenix Fire and the Colorado Springs Fire Department with their motto, ‘We can do better than this!’ Rather than coming up with a few dollars for each teen, they took care of the whole expense. How very proud I am of this most generous and vibrant parish,” he said.

Paris said the teens are witness to the generosity and support that OLP young adults and adults give them. They know that they matter in the life of the church because of the support they are given.

“As a mom of teens, and a Catholic youth leader, I couldn’t ask for anything more from our teens. They are truly our future of the church and we are in great hands,” Paris said.

Teenagers who signed up for the trip agreed.

“My friends and I are going to make many incredible memories, and share our lessons and experiences with others in our parish. I am honored to attend the canonization because I am able to represent the whole diocese,” said David Brodeur.

Lilly Gutierrez added, “It would be an amazing experience to pray (in front of) Carlo’s tomb and ask for his healing for my brain tumor, as one of his miracles was in relation to a brain healing. I want to attend this canonization to feel more connected to Carlo and his mission to spread the faith even at such a young age.”

Bella Konz said she is grateful for the opportunity to attend the trip.

“I couldn’t believe that this trip was fully paid for and it wouldn’t be without your (parishioners’) help. This pilgrimage will be such an amazing opportunity to visit a sacred place and grow deeper in faith alongside so many other devoted teens,” Konz said.

Avery Paris said she anticipates an unforgettable experience.

“Carlo was a regular teen like me . . . but he also had this deep love for God and used his gifts to share his faith with the world. Seeing him become a saint makes holiness feel so much more real and achievable, even for young people. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I can’t wait to be part of it,” Avery said.

David Sutherland said Carlo set the example of how people should live in Christ.

“Carlo documented all the eucharistic miracles up to his death at 15. It was awe-inspiring to see how many miracles there were, what they were like, what happened at those miracles. I want to attend his canonization because he was a great example of how to live your faith in the modern world against all odds and to live it out until death,” Sutherland said.

Father Kane said that going on a pilgrimage to Rome, the heart of Catholicism, is an opportunity for people to grow closer to God and see the historical roots of Christ’s church.

“Going to see a millennial canonized as a saint is a wonderful gift because it shows anyone can be a saint in any time period of the Church. Jesus calls us to holiness even in the most ordinary of circumstances, and Carlo Acutis exemplified this reality,” Father Kane said.

The Catholic Church follows a rigorous and detailed process in deciding whether to declare a person a saint. Requirements include leading a life of heroic virtue, having a reputation for holiness after their death, and having at least one verified miracle attributed to their intercession after being beatified. In short, the person needs two miracles to be fully canonized.

“I hope people will be inspired by Carlo’s faith, kindness and use of technology for good, encouraging them to live with purpose and compassion. This canonization will energize the Catholic community, especially young people, showing that holiness is possible in the modern world. Carlo demonstrates to young people that they matter in the Catholic Church,” Paris said. Because he enjoyed video games, he is known as both the first millenial and first “gamer” saint.

Father Kane said he hopes the pilgrims will grow closer to God through the intercession of Blessed Carlo.

“I pray that we as a group will grow in holiness and in a deeper understanding of what it means to be Catholic. A pilgrimage like this will help each one of us in our daily walk with God and in receiving any gifts he wishes us to receive on this trip,” Father Kane said.

(Editor’s note: The Diocese of Colorado Springs owns a complete Eucharistic Miracles of the World display that can be used by parishes and ministries. To reserve the display, contact Linda Oppelt at loppelt@coloradocatholicherald.com)