By Lisandro Albor Jr., St. Carlo Acutis Media Center Coordinator

–(Los Angeles, California) – On September 7, 2025, the Church officially canonized Carlo Acutis, making him the first saint from the  millennial generation. For young people especially, this is something to celebrate. It is the kind of  moment that does not just belong in the news. It belongs in our lives. It is a reminder that sainthood is not  far away. It is something possible, something real, and something that starts exactly where we are. 

Carlo was just a regular teenager. He liked video games, was into coding, and spent a lot of time online.  But what made him different was that at the center of it all was his love for Jesus in the Eucharist. He saw  the internet as a tool to bring people closer to God. He created websites that shared Eucharistic miracles,  helped others learn about the faith, and lived his short life with a sense of purpose and joy that continues  to inspire. 

Originally, his canonization was expected to happen earlier this year, but the passing of Pope Francis led  to a change in the date. It was celebrated instead by Pope Leo XIV on September 7, which also happens to be my birthday. When I heard that, I smiled–not because it was about me, but because it felt like a  reminder that this mission belongs to us now. It belongs to my generation and to every young person who is searching for a way to live their faith fully in the world we know. 

Carlo was canonized alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati, another young man whose love for the poor, sense of adventure, and contagious joy made him a powerful witness of the Gospel.  These two saints may have lived in different centuries, but they share something very important. They both prove that holiness is not about age or status. It is about how you love. It is about using what you have, where you are, to bring others closer to God. 

For those of us in the Salesian Family, this moment carries even more meaning. Don Bosco taught us to  walk with the young, to meet them in their world, and to help them discover that they are deeply loved by God. Today, that world is digital. It is full of screens, stories, posts, and endless content. It is also full of questions, loneliness, and searching. Carlo saw that, and he used the digital world as a space for encounter. 

That is why his canonization should matter to all of us. It is not just about celebrating his life. It is about  asking ourselves what we are doing with our own. 

At the new Carlo Acutis Media Center in the Salesian Mission Center in Boyle Heights, we are trying to live  this out. We are creating a space where young people can learn to evangelize through the use of media. Not just to  make things that look good, but to create content that is honest, hope-filled, and rooted in Christ. We believe that phones and cameras can be tools for holiness. We believe that God can use the creative gifts of young people to reach hearts that might not be reached any other way. 

This moment invites all of us, no matter our age, to support that mission. As a young person myself, just  twenty one years old, I know how much it means to have people who believe in us. We need space. We need encouragement. And we need trust. We need mentors who do not take over, but who walk with us,  guide us, and remind us that our ideas, voices, and faith matter. 

The Salesian family has always been about this kind of accompaniment. Now more than ever, we need to  live that spirit fully. 

So to every young person, be excited! We all now have a saint who understands our current world.  We have a saint who shows us that we can be holy and still love the things that make us who we are. We do not have to wait. We do not have to pretend to be someone or something else.  We can start right now, with what we already have, where we already are. 

And to everyone who makes up the Salesian Family — Salesian Brothers, Sisters, Priests, Cooperators, Parents, Educators, Collaborators, and other Salesian Family groups — the canonization of these two young saints echoes the charism and spirit of Don Bosco that holiness, sainthood is very much for young people.  The Salesian Charism and Spirituality of St. John Bosco supports young people, believes in young people, and allows young people to lead–recognizing that young people are capable of always bringing something new and Spirit-filled to the Church.

Carlo once said, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” That highway is open to all of us. The  question is whether we are ready to walk it in our churches, in our homes, and in the digital world where  so many young people are still searching—not searching with Google, but searching with their hearts and minds to find a deeper meaning and beauty of life.

Let us follow Carlo’s example. Let us be living saints of our time in this temporal world and the digital one. And let us walk that road, that “highway” to Heaven in communion with one another and especially in friendship with Jesus, Mary and Joseph always.