FRESH MEADOWS — Blessed Carlo Acutis, the late Italian teenager who is set to become the Catholic Church’s first Millennial saint, has become an inspiring figure to young people if the reaction from the Diocese of Brooklyn is any indication.
Middle school students from Catholic schools in Queens who took part in a eucharistic prayer rally at Holy Family Church in Fresh Meadows on Oct. 9, heard about the soon-to-be saint and came away wanting to know more about the teenager who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
Blessed Acutis — whose feast day is Oct. 12 — was famous for his devotion to the Eucharist, which he demonstrated by creating a website to chronicle eucharistic miracles worldwide.
He will be canonized in 2025, although the exact date has not yet been set.
Matthew Roder, a sixth grader at Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy in Douglaston, who attended the prayer rally, said he didn’t know all that much about Blessed Acutis, but came away identifying with him because of his youth.
“I’m inspired. I feel that if I can follow the same path that he went down, I can be a saint,” Matthew said. “I will keep praying and keep going to church.”
Alexandra Olszewski, also a sixth grader at Divine Wisdom, said the lesson of Blessed Acutis’s life is to deepen one’s faith. “You should believe in God and never pick up on yourself and always follow the right path,” she said.
There is much about him that young people can find relatable, said Father Sean Suckiel, pastor of Holy Family, who hosted the prayer rally.
“The story of Blessed Carlo is an amazing story and it’s a story of every kid in the pews,” he explained. “Every kid wants substance. They want truth. And blessed Carlo wanted that himself. He wanted to receive the holy Eucharist.
“He said the Eucharist was his highway to heaven … and these kids in our schools, they want to believe.”
When they arrived at Holy Family for the prayer rally, the approximately 250 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders from Catholic academies in Queens were greeted at the door by altar servers who handed each child a set of rosary beads.
The rally featured a eucharistic adoration at its center and the congregation venerated the Blessed Sacrament, which was placed on the altar. The day’s activities also included a procession around the block of the church led by Father Jose Diaz, pastor of Mary’s Nativity-St. Ann Parish in Flushing.
As he walked in the procession, Father Diaz held a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. Participants prayed the mysteries of the rosary as they walked, many with beads in hand.
Father Diaz, who delivered a homily in the church before the start of the procession, told the students to remember that God is with them at all times — even during troubled times in their lives.
“You guys are not alone,” he said. “You have a church that supports you.”
About Blessed Acutis, he added, “He wanted to be closer to Jesus because in Jesus, he found sanctuary.”
Deacon Kevin McCormack, superintendent of schools in the diocese, called Blessed Acutis a “great gift to the Church,” and said schools will be teaching students about his life as the world prepares for his canonization.
“We’re making a great effort to make sure that people know who he is, what he is, and why he does what he does,” McCormack said. “When you’re back here a year from now, everybody will know about him.”