Carlo Acutis integrated his gifts and talents with a personal spirituality.
In a world dominated by AI, excessive power and aggression, wars, and violence of every kind, how can young people make sense of it all and find wisdom and insight to face their future?
Who can they rely on for wisdom and courage to create a better future filled with hope? The following two events seem relevant and essential to build leaders and a community of support for youth as they face today’s challenges:
a) In Ottawa, for three days in February 2025, 36 young people from across Canada gathered in Ottawa to attend a God and Government Youth Conference hosted by ARPA, (Association for Reformed Political Action) to encourage the next generation to be ambassadors for Christ in the public square. The days were spent meeting Members of Parliament and Senators, touring and learning about key political issues.
b) In Vancouver, this spring, university students from St. Mark’s College at UBC have expressed a desire to host an afternoon workshop for themselves on how to live synodality more diligently while adjusting to their campus environment and challenges.
Both these events are positive opportunities for youth to gain a vision, knowledge and skills as well as mutual support as they journey into an unknown future.
There is another significant event this year that offers a positive model for integrating faith with today’s technology. During the Jubilee of Adolescents, on April 27, Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial and digital saint.
Carlo Acutis
Carlo Acutis, known as the patron of the internet, was a web designer who created a website documenting 163 worldwide miracle stories. He was also concerned about the harms of pornography and cyber bullying, which is a major concern today.
Born on May 3,1991 in London, but shortly after moved to Italy, Carlo died in 2006 of leukemia. He is an example of how youth can integrate their gifts and talents with a personal spirituality.
As an incredibly young person, Carlo had a strong awareness of the presence of God in his life with a special love for the Eucharist. He put his faith into action thru his outreach to the homeless. It is not surprising that St Francis was his favorite saint.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB in his pastoral letter for the Jubilee Year of Hope describes youth “as feeling particularly disenfranchised and calls them to renew their hope and take advantage of the graces offered by the Jubilee – one of the five practices is to imitate the saints, in particular Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.”
Pier Giorgio Frassati
Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonized this summer.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is another example of a young person who integrated faith life, care for the poor as well as care for self. He loved mountain climbing, the theatre, art, opera and visiting museums.
He was born in Italy on April 6, 1901, and died at 24 years of age from polio which he contracted while serving the poor.
Blessed Pier Giorgio is an exemplary model for university students of integrating academic studies and political interests with a deep spirituality. Called “a man of the eight beatitudes,” he will be canonized during the Jubilee for Young Adults on August 3.
Pope Francis on many occasions has challenged youth to be “joyful protagonists in the church.” Like our two soon-to-be saints, they are called to be passionate about proclaiming the Gospel message, to be a critical conscience of our modern society and a counter voice – courageously living and integrating the reign of God for justice, peace and love into our world today.
The world and the church need their enthusiasm, freshness and insights. They represent a huge source of positive and potential energy for good, capable of standing up against all sources of violence and the misuse of power. With support from wise elders, education in faith and missionary commitment, they are able to bring a renewal with new energy and light to the world.
So, we pray, bless all the youth of this world, protect them from the evils of our current society. May they know their worth and dignity as joyful protagonists in the church and rightful citizens of this earth, free to live the reign of Jesus for justice, peace and hope.
St. Mark’s College conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Nancy Brown last May.
Nancy Brown, SC is retired from her 20-year role as Pastoral Counselor / Ombudsperson at Covenant House. Last spring, St. Mark’s College conferred on her its highest honour, the degree Doctor of Sacred Letters, honoris causa, with this comment:
Sister Nancy is well known for her leadership role in fighting sexual exploitation and human trafficking and her expertise has been beneficial to numerous committees and groups.
She has posted this comment on this site as a member of The Bell: Diverse Christian Voices in Vancouver. Go here to see earlier comments in the series.