Carlo Acutis

"The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of Heaven."

"To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan."

"You go straight to Heaven if you receive the Eucharist every day."

"Everyone is born original, but many die as photocopies."

"You know, to live close to someone like Carlo means to not remain neutral in your own faith. For me, Carlo brought me closer to God. He would ask questions that I would not know the answer to, especially in my own lack of catechism. So I turned to learning more about my faith, and this was because of Carlo. Many other people would witness to this, as well: people who converted because of his example, or his conversations. He really lived what he preached, a witness."

"Carlo strove to document the feat Of God’s disclosures visibly surprising Men capable of honest sympathizing."

"Acutis expressed a traditional form of Catholicism and was a staunch believer in transubstantiation. He recognized that many—even among Catholics—do not accept this doctrine and regard the Eucharist as merely symbolic. To counter this skepticism, he dedicated time to documenting miracles related to transubstantiation and sharing them through his blog. …I am unsure if the crowds of young people visiting his grave or who went to Rome for his (later postponed) share his belief in transubstantiation. Nevertheless, they find Acutis more intriguing and engaging than his liberal Catholic or secular critics."

"This boy from Milan, who chose Assisi as his favorite place, understood, also following in the footsteps of St. Francis, that God must be at the center of everything"

"He rode around on a broken bicycle, never talked about himself, and when I wanted to buy him an extra pair of shoes, he would reply, “What do I need them for?” [...] [About poor people] He knew them by name, he says, and brought them sleeping bags, blankets, clothes, and hot meals."

"He represents a model of strength, alien to any form of compromise, aware that, in order to remain in Jesus' love, it is necessary to live the Gospel in a concrete way, even at the cost of going against the tide."

"The beatification of [arlo Acutis, son of Lombardy and lover of the land of Francis of Assisi, is good news, a powerful announcement that a young man of our time, one like many others, was won over by Christ and became a beacon of light for all those who want to know him and follow his example. His life is a model especially for young people, not to find gratification only in ephemeral successes, but in the perennial values that Jesus suggests in the Gospel, namely: putting God first, in the big and small circumstances of life, and serving our brothers and sisters, especially the least among us."