Students preparing for confirmation and first Communion at Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish spent the morning of March 23 imitating their parish’s patron by making bag lunches for hungry people.

The effort marked the beginning of what Resurrectionist Father Edward Howe, the pastor, is calling “Carlo Fest,” a series of events leading up to the April 27 canonization of Carlo Acutis, who died from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.

Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish is the first under his patronage in the United States. It has worship sites at St. John Berchmans Church, 2519 W. Logan Blvd., and St. Hedwig Church, 2226 N. Hoyne Ave., as well as St. John Berchmans School.

Confirmation students worked in an assembly line, making ham and cheese sandwiches and packing them into brown paper bags with granola bars, fruit and water, along with notes written by the first Communion students reminding the recipients that Jesus loves them.

Howe reminded all the youngsters that they were following the example of Blessed Carlo, who was born in England but lived almost all of his life in Milan. He was a normal kid, Howe said, who played soccer and loved video games, but he also spent his pocket money on sleeping bags for homeless people, and organized a fundraiser at his school to feed the hungry.

“We’re doing what Carlo was doing at your young age,” Howe told the students. “He was doing all kinds of things to reach out to the homeless and to people in need.”

Carlo was also a bit of a “computer geek,” and used his coding skills to create a website about eucharistic miracles around the world when he was 11 years old. An exhibit based on those miracles is now touring parishes on five continents.

Juan Licea, an eighth grader, said that he relates to Carlo Acutis mostly because of the young soon-to-be saint’s love of video games, something he also enjoys.

“He could be seen as a role model because of what he did for other people,” Juan said, as he added notes and napkins to filled lunch bags.

“He did everything good,” said Jerry Romero, an eighth grader working with Juan.

Weston Lim, an eighth grader who started the assembly line by taking bread out of the bag, said he learned about Blessed Carlo from a comic book he read in their religious education class.

He shares Blessed Carlo’s interest in computers, he said, and sometimes plays soccer after school.

“I think we would be friends,” Weston said.

Rebecca Camacho, further down the assembly like, said she appreciated how Blessed Carlo always tried to help people.

“He was a very helpful person,” Camacho said. “Especially for the hungry and needy people.”

The parish planned to continue its celebration of his upcoming canonization with a food drive throughout April and ongoing pen-pal program with students at Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish in Wolverhampton, England; a presentation by Michael O’Neill, EWTN’s “Miracle Hunter” about the eucharistic miracles that Carlo Acutis documented at 7 p.m. April 15 at St. Hedwig; Carlo Acutis “spiritual Olympics” with a STEM and soccer program presented by the Chicago Fire soccer team at St. John Berchmans School April 17; eucharistic adoration and Blessed Carlo’s eucharistic miracles exhibit at St. Hedwig Church from 8:30 to 11 p.m. April 17; and April 18-26 novena; “Carlo Feast” on April 27; and a special celebration at the 11 a.m. Mass April 27.

A film about Carlo Acutis will play in local theaters April 27-29. For tickets, visit carloacutisfilm.com.

Also, a group of 10 parishioners will travel to Rome for the canonization.

Howe said he also feels a connection with Blessed Carlo, because he was learning to use computers and technology in the early 2000s, around the same time Blessed Carlo was. Howe was a Resurrectionist brother who worked doing social work and community organizing at St. Hedwig, then as a social worker and in other capacities, including director of technology,  at Gordon Tech High School. From 2003 to 2005, he worked in the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Radio and Television, as much of the media landscape transitioned to digital formats.

“I feel like I was learning a lot of the technology the same time he was,” said Howe.

For more information about Carlo Fest, visit carloacutisparish.org.