Book on Catholic teen Carlo Acutis makes for a great gift this season

(REVIEW) It’s not typical for me to review children’s books — it’s also not every day that I get to review a book about Carlo Acutis.

Acutis’ mother, Antonia, attributed to her deceased son’s intercession her ability to give birth to twins at age 44 — exactly four years to the day after Acutis’ death. After the Roman Catholic Church's recognition of a miracle in 2020 attributed to Acutis, Antonia said her son had appeared to her in dreams saying that he would not only be beatified but also someday canonized a saint.

Written by Ellen Labrecque and illustrated by Dan Wegendt, the book “Carlo Acutis: God’s Computer Genius” (Pauline Books & Media) recounts the life and times of the Catholic teen and computer programmer best known for documenting miracles and cataloguing them onto the website miracolieucaristici.org.

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Acutis died from leukemia in 2006 at age 15. In 2020, he was beautified, a process accorded by the Catholic Church to the dead for their capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. It is also a step towards sainthood. It makes Acutis, as the book notes, “the first millennial to become a saint.”

The 60-page book, designed to look like a teenager’s worn-out school notebook, makes for a perfect present for your child or preteen this Christmas. Catholic children over the decades have been no strangers to books featuring saints, but Acutis is special because he speaks to this current generation. That is why his life is worth re-examination and why this is a book worth stuffing into the stocking of a child in your life.

While the book is written for children, it is one adults will also find both entertaining and informative. The text recalling Acutis’ life is broken up with sidebars that delve deeper into the church and Catholicism in general.

One such sidebar is dedicated to what it takes to be a saint. For example, the person must be deceased at least five years — “unless there is an exception made by the pope,” according to the book.

Beautification, one of the steps needed on the path to sainthood, is bestowed once a miracle can be attributed to the person, a process that dates back to the 1500s.

“All miracles come from God,” the book clarifies, “but the saints in heaven can ask God for miracles and intervene on Earth in a special way when people ask them for help.”

What will it take for Acutis to be made a saint, then? The book notes that a second miracle needs to be attributed to him and approved before he is officially canonized.

“The pope will honor this saint in a special Mass,” the book adds.

So it remains a real possibility that Acutis will be made a saint. Since 1982, when St. John Paul II loosened the rules regarding canonization as pope, the church has made 1,425 men and women into saints — more than quadruple the number named in the four previous centuries.

Acutis has indeed generated lots of attention in recent years. You can watch his tomb live via a streaming YouTube channel, and Acutis’ beatification ceremony attracted thousands.

The saints, above all, serve as role models for Catholics, and Acutis is a wonderful role model and someone young people can look up to.

Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.