Carlo's Way: A Musical Pilgrimage to the First Millennial Saint
In an age when young people are often criticized for being glued to their screens, Carlo Acutis transformed technology into a tool of evangelization. This remarkable Italian teenager, who died at just fifteen years old, will make history on September 7th, 2025, when he becomes the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint during his canonization (and that of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati) in Rome.
Carlo’s story reads like a modern parable of faith meeting the digital world. Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, he taught himself computer programming not to build the next social media empire, but to catalog Eucharistic miracles around the world. While his peers were navigating typical teenage concerns, Carlo was creating websites for his parish and using his technical skills to draw hearts closer to Christ.
What makes Carlo extraordinary isn’t just his technological savvy, but his profound love for the Eucharist. He called it his “highway to heaven” and attended daily Mass from the age of seven until his death from leukemia. His witness was so powerful that it converted his own mother, who had barely attended Mass before her son’s influence brought their entire family back to the faith (and even his Hindu nanny!).
Carlo’s canonization comes at a crucial moment when the Church seeks to reach younger generations who seem increasingly distant from traditional faith practices. Here was a saint who loved video games like Super Mario and Pokémon (limiting himself to one hour per week), yet spent hours in Eucharistic adoration. He defended classmates who were bullied, fed and clothed the homeless with leftovers from family dinners and his own clothes, and used his computer skills to serve God rather than himself.
On our recent long pilgrimage throughout Italy, we planned to attend the Canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis; however, it was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis. (We did get the opportunity to visit his tomb again in Assisi, in which his body is encased in glass, dressed in jeans and a track sweat shirt; a most moving sight.)
Missing the canonization did not dampen our enthusiasm and admiration for this holy young man. In fact, Carlo has inspired us to make several videos. The first set is part of our Saintly Shorts videos that give quick facts about him. Most recently, we composed a song to honor Carlo.
Creating the Song "Carlo's Way"
Carlo’s humility, generosity, genuineness, and sacrificial love inspired us to create this song. We had previously made a couple of other songs, one inspired by Saint Michael called Saint Michael Our Protector (70’s style ballad) and another by the Act of Contrition prayer called Contrition (blues style, of course). So, when we returned from Italy, we started work on Carlos’ Way.
We learned that he really enjoyed music through the biography of him that his mother wrote. Not knowing which songs were his favorite, we looked at the top 10 songs, in Italy, during his last year and saw that Indie/Alternative Pop was popular at the time. That was our chosen genre.
The lyrics came first, which proved to be a creative challenge and spiritual exercise. We wanted the song to capture the inspirational moments of Carlo’s life, his devotion to the Eucharist, how he offered his pain and suffering to the Holy Father, his website that educated millions about the Eucharistic Miracles throughout the world, and his generous nature – helping the poor.
Our first drafts seemed good, but not 100% true to the faith. Trying to fit faithful lyrics to the cadence and structure of a pop song, and stay true took several iterations. Once we were happy with the lyrics, we went to Suno.com to compose the music and bring in some (computer generated) musicians and singers.
Suno generates two versions of the song with each prompt. Again, several iterations tweaking the settings and generating many songs until this one popped up and we said, “that’s it!”
I’d like to share one note (pun intended) on AI generated music, I really wish I had the talent to be able to accomplish a song like this without it. The technology amazingly enables someone to turn an idea into a reality. I felt like a record producer in pulling this together. If you are interested in trying, you can start with some free credits by clicking this link.
St. Carlo, Guide Us to Jesus Christ
St. Carlo Acutis reminds us that sanctity can flourish anywhere — even in designer sneakers and hoodies, even behind computer screens, even in the bustling streets of modern Milan. His way forward was surprisingly simple: daily Mass, the rosary, service to others, and an unshakeable belief that the Eucharist leads us to salvation. We dare to hope that this tribute song helps spread his message of being Christ to others, reflecting His Love. As we wrote in the song, “Oh, your light, radiating so bright, Carlo, guide us to Jesus Christ.”
