My dad, Vincent LeVien, works for the Diocese of Brooklyn. As a result, my family is often invited to attend special Church events. In April, we traveled to Italy for the canonization of then-Blessed Carlo Acutis, but it was canceled after Pope Francis died.
So, instead of the canonization, we were there for the funeral of a pope, which is something I never thought I would get to witness.
When the Vatican announced that Carlo Acutis would be made a saint on Sept. 7, I asked my parents if I could go. It would mean missing the first few days of school, but they agreed it would be a great learning and spiritual experience.
We arrived in Rome on Friday, Sept. 5. When we got there, we toured St. Peter’s Basilica with my dad’s friend Brenda. Brenda’s husband, Adriano, is an amazing artist at the Vatican mosaic studio, so Brenda brought us there next for a tour.
Later that night, we were in Rome for the premiere of the documentary “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” It was special to watch as St. Carlo Acutis’ family was there, and hear his mother, Antonia, speak after the movie. I’m 12 years old and not much younger than St. Carlo Acutis was when he died, so it was cool to hear his mother speak about him as a young teenager and the special things he did at a young age.
On Saturday, we spent time with my dad’s Swiss Guard friends. One of them, Joel, plays hockey just like me. Another, Jonas, I had just met when he came to New York last month.
Sunday was the big day of the canonization. We woke up super early to meet another Swiss Guard who brought us to the meeting point for getting into the canonization Mass.
We met with Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo from the Diocese of Assisi, who took us to our special seats on the altar in St. Peter’s for the Mass.
It’s still warm in Italy this time of year, but you hardly notice it with the energy and excitement of the crowd of thousands who came to see Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati become saints. For it to be done by the first American pope made me feel even more connected to the moment.
After the Mass, we joined Swiss Guard Commander Christoph Graf and his family. On Tuesday, we went to Assisi for a special Mass and other ceremonies celebrating the canonization. What St. Carlo Acutis shows us is that anyone, even a teenager, can make a difference.
Vinny LeVien, Jr., is a 12-year-old student at Saint Anne’s School in Garden City, New York.