“To always be close to Jesus, that’s my life plan.”
During his visit to the United Kingdom in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI said:
“A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints.”
The life of every saint has valuable lessons to teach us. One saint Cathedral pupils have taken as a particular role model, however, is St Carlo Acutis.
Carlo Acutis was born on 3rd May 1991 in London, where his father was working. Just a few months later, he moved with his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, to Milan, Italy.
Carlo had a very special love for God from a young age. He loved to pray the rosary and, following his First Holy Communion, went to Mass as often as possible at the church across the road from his primary school.
Carlo was a faithful friend and was known for standing up for pupils at school who were bullied, especially those with disabilities. Carlo also had a great love and concern for the poor and would bring containers filled with food to people living on the streets.
Carlo was fascinated with computers and taught himself coding. He used his computer skills to put together an exhibition on Eucharistic miracles that went on to be displayed at thousands of parishes around the world.
Carlo loved playing video games on Nintendo Game Boy, GameCube, PlayStation and Xbox. Carlo had conversations with his gaming buddies about the importance of going to Mass and confession and limited his video game playing to no more than two hours per week. Like many Cathedral pupils, Carlo was a fan of Spider-Man and Pokémon.
Carlo Acutis was diagnosed with leukaemia as a teenager. He died on 12th October 2006, age fifteen, and was buried in Assisi. His body lies in repose in a glass tomb where he can be seen in jeans and a pair of Nike trainers.
Carlo Acutis was canonised by Pope Leo XIV on 7th September 2025, making him the first millennial saint. To mark this joyful occasion, Head Teacher, Graeme Young, gifted the above statue of Carlo Acutis to Cathedral school community.
Please click on the link below to watch a short animation about Saint Carlo Acutis.
