When Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis in May, Catholics across the Archdiocese of Chicago rejoiced.

The archdiocese is home to the only Catholic parish in the western hemisphere under the soon-to-be millennial saint’s patronage, and those who minister to teenagers and young adults have offered him as an example of how a young person can be holy in an Internet-connected world.

Blessed Acutis, born to Italian parents in London in 1991, moved with parents to Milan as an infant and was educated there. He loved computers and technology, and while in high school, he developed websites, including one for his local parish and one for his high school.

A site he developed when he was 11 years old, cataloguing eucharistic miracles, is still in use today, according to the Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish website.

The parish logo pays homage to its patron in the form of the shape of a Eucharist in a monstrance. The name “Carlo” is spelled out in binary code around the perimeter of the monstrance.

“The incorporation of binary code into the parish’s logo is a symbolic representation of the interconnectedness of the material and spiritual realms,” explained Resurrectionist Father Thomasz Wojciechowski, who has been pastor since Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish was created by the union of St. Hedwig and St. John Berchmans parishes in 2022, in an email. “Just as binary code translates complex data into a series of ones and zeros, so too does Blessed Carlo Acutis’ life distill the complexities of faith into simple yet profound truths. The logo serves as a visual reminder of Acutis’ message that even in the digital age, the language of faith remains universal and accessible to all who seek it. Through the logo, parishioners are invited to contemplate the deeper meanings encoded within Acutis’ life and to reflect on how his example can inspire a deeper connection to God and his church.”

Throughout his life, Blessed Acutis was in many was a typical child and teen, but from an early age, he expressed a devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to helping those around him.

He also volunteered at a church soup kitchen; helped poor people in his neighborhood; assisted children with their homework; played saxophone, soccer and video games; and loved making videos with his dogs and cats, according to carloacutis.com, the website dedicated to his cause for canonization.

At the age of 7, he wrote, “To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan.”

Blessed Acutis was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia at age 15, and he died Oct. 12, 2006. The following year, his remains were moved to the municipal cemetery in Assisi, Italy, in accordance with his wish to be in the city of St. Francis. Twelve years later, as his cause for sainthood was being considered, his remains were moved to the Shrine of the Renunciation at the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi, and his tomb has become a pilgrimage site for hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Tristan Daley, 15, plans to visit Assisi this summer with his family. Daley, a parishioner at Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier in Wilmette and a student at New Trier High School, chose Blessed Acutis as his patron for confirmation in 2023.

Daley was excited when he found out Blessed Acutis would become a saint.

“I thought it was really incredible,” he said. “The specific reason I chose him was that he was able to dedicate himself to God in modern life, to really focus on becoming a saint. When I think of saints, I think of these super-religious people from a long time ago.”

But Blessed Acutis lived a life that was very similar to Daley’s, going to school, playing sports and spending time with friends, while also devoting himself to his faith and especially to the Eucharist.

“That’s why he seemed so holy to me,” Daley said. “He was able to still be a normal kid. …. We’re all able to find time for God.”

Thomas Howard, co-director of lifelong formation at Cristo Rey Parish in Little Village, had the parish’s religious education students visit an exhibit based on Blessed Acutis’ catalogue of eucharistic miracles when it came to the parish last year.

Some of them, Howard said, were intrigued.

What Howard noticed was that Blessed Acutis, who was just 15 when he died, didn’t really leave behind a body of original work. What he did was catalogue and organize information that was already there.

“Maybe that’s what we’re called to do,” Howard said. “Make the faith accessible.”

He likened Blessed Acutis to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who also committed to holiness at a very young age. Even as children, they have led others “to fall into the arms of the Father,” Howard said.

In the case of Blessed Acutis, his mother, who had not regularly practiced her Catholic faith, developed her own dedication to the Eucharist after seeing her son’s devotion, Howard said.

Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish has created a side chapel in St. Hedwig Church, 2226 N. Hoyne Ave., where daily Mass is celebrated and which is open every day for eucharistic adoration. The chapel, next to the main sanctuary, houses a first-class relic of Blessed Acutis, which was sent to the parish by Missionaries of Charity in Rome.

That relic, a bit of Blessed Acutis’ hair, was carried back to Chicago by Father Robert S. Ryan, associate pastor of Sts. Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish in Wilmette.

Ryan, ordained in 2021, said he first learned about Blessed Acutis — then Venerable Acutis — just before he entered seminary after experiencing a profound call to priesthood. He decided to place himself under Blessed Acutis’ patronage, and prayed daily for his intercession.

Part of the appeal, Ryan said, was that Blessed Acutis seemed a lot like him.

“He’s someone I can relate to,” he said, noting that he worked in the tech industry before entering the seminary. “I’m not that much older than him, two years. We would have been in school together, in similar circles. I refer to him as my spiritual little brother.”

Ryan visited his tomb in Assisi, and less than a year after being ordained in 2021, visited Rome with two then-seminarians, now newly ordained priests. After celebrating Mass for the Missionaries of Charity in Rome, a deacon took him aside and asked if he could carry a package to Chicago.

That package contained the relic and documentation, on its way to be presented to the new Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish.

“For the flight, I took the envelope out of my backpack and I just kind of held them,” Ryan said. “For the whole flight back, it was this beautiful moment of speaking to the young man who I knew was interceding for me, helping me grow in love with the Lord, helping me grow in love for the Eucharist.”

Ryan ministers to students in elementary and high school, and said he often shares the story of Blessed Acutis with them, and Wojciechowski said students at the parish school, St. John Berchmans, have become interested in their patron.

“We are truly blessed to have Blessed Carlo Acutis as our patron saint, and the enthusiasm for his patronage extends even to the children of our parish school,” Wojciechowski said. “Their love for Blessed Carlo Acutis reflects his ability to resonate with the younger generation and inspire them to embrace their faith with joy and fervor. Through his intercession, the children of our parish school grow in holiness and wisdom, following in the footsteps of this remarkable young saint.”