New York City, N.Y., May 31, 2025 /
10:30 am
Antonia Salzano Acutis, the mother of soon-to-be canonized Carlo Acutis, spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 2,500 people at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Thursday, touching on several themes including the universal call to holiness, the importance of living the virtues, and the sacraments as a means of receiving grace.
“We are here to speak about Carlo. As you know, the canonization was delayed. But it was a beautiful surprise because now we have an American Pope!” said Acutis to applause.
“Carlo loved America,” she continued. “And Italians love Americans because of what happened during the Second World War. We have many cemeteries full of Americans who gave their life for Italians, for the peace. So I am sure in the providence of God, this is not casual.”
Even though the canonization of Carlo Acutis was suspended by the passing of Pope Francis, Carlo’s mother said she felt that Carlo was giving another message.
“Okay, so the canonization was suspended. But what about your canonization? You too! You are looking at me surprised. Maybe you forgot that God, for each one of us, has a special project. Jesus says, ‘You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world,’” she said.
Acutis explained that each person is special in God’s eye. She said Carlo would regularly say that all of us are originals.
“We will die as photocopies if we do not realize God’s project for us. We all have the seeds of sanctity inside of us,” she said.
Carlo’s Eucharistic and Marian heart
Acutis spoke about her son’s first Holy Communion and how, from that day, he went to daily Mass. He also took part in Eucharistic adoration every day before or after Mass.
“When Carlo was six years old, he began to pray the rosary every day. He used to say that to pray the rosary was like doing an exorcism on yourself every day,” she said.
“At Fatima, the Virgin Mary always asked people to pray the rosary. She said that, through the rosary, we can stop wars. The rosary is very powerful. I know that not everybody can go to Mass every day, but through the rosary, we can help many people every day,” she said.
Acutis also spoke about the importance of the Eucharist within the spiritual life.
“When we have a Eucharistic life, it heals you. It will change your life,” she said. “The Eucharist, as Carlo would say, is a highway to heaven. Why? Because it is the most supernatural thing in this life.”
“The essence of Jesus is love,” she said. “This is why, when we see Eucharistic miracles, they are always Hosts that have become flesh from the myocardium; the heart. It is as if Jesus were sending us heart emojis from heaven. Jesus is sending us his heart.”
She noted that when people lose their connection to the internet, they frequently become stressed out. But the same reaction does not often happen when losing a connection to God.
“Carlo used to say that we are all mystics, because we all have the Holy Trinity inside of us that we received at the moment of baptism,” she said. “The problem is the connection. In what sense? If I do not pray or have any moments of silence and reflection during my day, I lose the connection with God.”
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“The sanctity of Carlo was that out of his ordinary life, he took little moments to pray, moments to thank God. How many times do we pray? We need to give a little space to God,” she said.
Moving Moments
During a question-and-answer session, when asked about Carlo’s death, his mother told the audience that, after his funeral, two of his friends were very upset and crying for weeks. Carlo appeared in a dream to both of these friends on the same night, she said, telling them to stop crying because he was very happy in heaven.
In response to questions about a canonization date, Acutis stated that there is no set date yet, but that Vatican officials are again meeting about causes on June 13.
Many audience members spoke about personal stories of miraculous healings and answered prayers they said came through the intercession of Carlo Acutis. Several audience members made it a point to thank his mother for her continued witness.
The standing ovation at the end of her presentation lasted several minutes, with throngs of people holding up their smartphone cameras to take pictures before she left.
“I was struck by the fact that it was her son, at a very young age, who fully brought her into the fold of the Church,” said Valentina Cook, a Bulgarian native who lives in Westchester County, who attended the talk. “It sounded like before she had been a Catholic only nominally, and it was he [Carlo] who initiated her life of faith and her work as a catechist.”
“I liked how Mrs. Acutis spoke and made it very easy to understand. She has a very lighthearted way of talking that allows you to understand very deep concepts and points that she was trying to make — along with a few smiles and laughter,” said Isabella Arena, a high-school student from New York.
“I was positively impressed by the multitude gathered in Church to listen to Carlo’s mom’s testimony. It is a confirmation to me of a ‘wake-up’ wave we are seeing these days,” said Maria Baldi, a native Italian who lives in New York.
“There is a huge need for meaning, structure, discipline and purpose. The need is stronger than ever amongst the younger generation,” she said, adding: “God is really using this young boy to ignite new faith where it is weak and lost.”
Sabrina Arena Ferrisi is a New York-based writer who has worked as a journalist covering the Catholic Church for various American Catholic media outlets, including the National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, and Catholic World Report.
