Brian’s 10-year-old brother, Paul, added: “I wanted to meet Carlo’s mom. Carlo is a role model for all kids. He teaches us how to get closer to Jesus by going to Mass as often as we can and by praying the rosary every day.”
One of their own
Blessed Carlo’s journey to the Diocese of Trenton began several years ago when Father Marian Kokorzycki, parochial vicar of St. Dominic Parish, brought a relic of Blessed Carlo back from a pilgrimage to Assisi for the diocese. Bishop O’Connell supported the idea of a shrine at the parish devoted to the new Blessed.
“I love his story,” O’Connell told CNA. “I’ve read everything I could get my hands on about Blessed Carlo Acutis. He was a normal boy, but his devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and love for his Catholic faith created a collective orientation toward God in all that he did.”
Sometime later, at the annual Catholic school Mass for the diocese, a video was shown to the students before Mass about Blessed Carlo Acutis. “I watched the young people in the church,” O’Connell recalled. “They were riveted. You could hear a pin drop. That’s when the idea came to me.”
In April 2022, O’Connell declared Blessed Carlo Acutis the patron of students in his diocese. “Since then, I’ve noticed Blessed Carlo Acutis’ picture is in all of our schools,” O’Connell said. “There is an awareness of him. Young people talk about him. He was a computer geek. He went to school. He even defended kids from bullies — all the things the young people of our diocese do. Carlo is one of their own. I’m counting on him to help me evangelize the young people of the Diocese of Trenton.”
‘A higher project’
During the ceremony, the reliquary containing Blessed Carlo’s relic stood prominently before his portrait in the shrine. Salzano looked on as O’Connell blessed the shrine in honor of her son. The room was packed to capacity. Many held their phones over their heads to capture the historic moment. Even though it was a Sunday, the students of St. Dominic Catholic School proudly wore their school uniforms.
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Then it was time for Salzano to leave Carlo with his new parish family. “As a mother,” she said, “it was a pleasure for me to do this for Carlo. This is a higher project. Through Carlo, God will help many people. It makes me very happy to see so many young people here today.”
“Through Carlo, Jesus is doing a lot of miracles, healings, and conversions. This is a time when we need saints because the darkness is all around us, and young people have so many dangers. Pornography, drugs, gaming addictions, alcohol, brainwashing from the media and its anti-Gospel — the danger is strong. Carlo is a sign of hope. He passed over all these things, too. He was not polluted by it. This is possible for everybody. Our children can still be holy.”
Sharon Delaney is a home-school mom and a freelance writer. Previously, she was an inspirational writer whose stories have appeared in Guideposts, Reader’s Digest, and Writer’s Digest.