What’s the first saint that comes to your mind? Did that person live in this century? There are a plethora of named saints in the Catholic Church, but only two lived in this century, one of which has just been officially canonized.

As we’re only 25 years into this century, it’s not surprising that only two named saints were alive when not just a new century was ushered in, but a new millennium. Pope Saint John Paul II died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014, which is quite a short amount of time. Given his public devotion to the church, for he was well-known and well-loved all over the world, it can be understandable that so many people sought his intercession to provide many opportunities for God’s miracles to be attributed to him. However, newly canonized, as of September 7, 2025, Saint Carlo Acutis was a mere teenager of 15 when he passed away from leukemia in 2006. Carlo was not just a regular teen who loved playing video games and dressed in jeans and sneakers. He was on fire for Jesus and used his programming skills to create a website dedicated to Eucharist miracles. 

“What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? The real battle is with ourselves.”
St. Carlo Acutis

According to Carlo’s mother, Antonia, it was Carlo who asked to be taken to Mass as often as possible and preferred daily Mass. While Antonia was Catholic, her attendance was very minimal. Carlo’s witness brought about a conversion in her to attend Mass more frequently, and most importantly, to receive the Holy Eucharist. Carlo noticed the crowds and devotion that others had for sports and entertainment figures and wanted the same for Jesus Christ. He researched many Eucharistic miracles and wanted to share the information with others. As a child of the new millennium, the best way to do that was with a website. It takes time and dedication to create the website and its content. Carlo could have spent his time playing video games or creating his own games, but instead, he created a website for the Real Presence of Jesus: Eucharistic Miracles of the World. 

In our modern era, it’s very easy for us to think of saints being from another era and not having to deal with the advances in technology and the changes in the political and economic landscape. Many teens today are more concerned about what they are going to wear, how many likes they have on the most recent social media app, and how they are going to spend their time outside of the classroom. But Carlo’s focus was on becoming holy. His rule was, “You must want it with all your heart.” How many of us today, not just teens, but adults as well, want to be a saint, but put off the investment of time required to become holy until “later?” We see the minimum of what the church requests of us as sufficient for us to enter heaven. It may be enough to keep a relationship with God, but we shouldn’t expect to walk through the pearly gates upon our life’s last breath on earth. The minimum precepts are provided as guardrails for a Christian life, and are there to encourage us to go deeper, learn more, participate more, volunteer more. If we expect to win a marathon, wouldn’t we put the time into training? While it’s never too late on this side of heaven to pursue a relationship with God, there are many graces and blessings we forgo when we pursue our own desires and put off wanting to be holy until later.

I’ve presented information about saints to young adults and older children participating in OCIA over the last few years. There was definitely interest and surprise when I brought up then-Blessed Carlo Acutis. He was someone who looked like them, understood the same world they do, dressed like them, and shared interests in soccer and video games. A few of them even considered his name for their confirmation name. It made them think that choosing a patron saint was not just about the name but about the person and how that person brought Jesus into the world around them. Saints are role models for us all. 

God calls all people to holiness and a relationship with Him. When we respond to that call, we are allowing God to transform us into the best version of ourselves. The more we want God, the more we desire holiness above all else, we are walking in the path to sainthood. Maybe we will become a named saint, but that’s not the goal of a saint. The goal is to want to spend eternal life in the presence of God in heaven, and to seek the path now that will help us get there.