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My Son Carlo: Carlo Acutis Through the Eyes of His Mother

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Since he was beatified in 2020, Carlo Acutis has been the subject of widespread interest across the globe. The typical Italian teenager who lived a life of extraordinary virtue has captivated countless millions. And yet, even with the worldwide attention on this millennial saint, we're left wondering and wanting more. What was Carlo really like? How did he interact with those closest to him in daily life? What was it like to live in the same home as him? In My Son Carlo , Antonia Salzano Acutis shares for the first time the intimate, private moments of her son's life, including his final days in vivid detail before he died from leukemia at the age of 15. In her own words, Antonia shares stories and memories as a mother who lost her son too early but was forever shaped by his remarkable life. Carlo has quickly become a favorite patron in heaven, changing the lives of those who pray for his intercession. In this book, Antonia shares how Carlo desires to bring people to Jesus, like he did for her, helping her rekindle her "This was his that he had a constant, intimate relationship with Jesus. He wanted everyone he encountered to have this kind of relationship like he did. He did not consider it to be something just for him. He was convinced that this relationship was accessible to all."

240 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2023

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Antonia Salzano Acutis

19 books3 followers

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5 stars
124 (61%)
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52 (25%)
3 stars
21 (10%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Heidi Mussoline.
390 reviews2 followers
September 28, 2025
This book is a must-read: both to grow in friendship with Carlo and to be convicted to grow in love of the Eucharist!!!! All that I’ve seen of Carlo doesn’t even scratch the surface to the young man we meet in these pages. His love of the Eucharist, his attentiveness to the outcast, his profound journal entries… so beautiful. St. Carlo, please pray for us!
Profile Image for Stephen Duquaine.
64 reviews8 followers
November 29, 2023
I’m blown away by Bl. Carlo and this book really helped me to see how deep he truly was. His mother quotes from his journal often and his writing is profound. I have found a new friend in heaven through this book!
Profile Image for Mariangel.
743 reviews
July 20, 2025
Besides being a biography of Carlo Acutis with more personal details that only his mother could provide, this book contains excertps of his diaries with Carlo's own meditations about faith, eternal life, and the Eucharist. A couple of chapters were repetitive, but on the whole I liked it very much. It turns out that Carlo's great-grandmother was also considered a saint by those who knew her, and after her death several people obtained favours through her intercession.
126 reviews2 followers
June 5, 2023
Reading about Carlo from his mother's perspective was a balm to my soul and such a consolation to me personally, as I have a 12 y.o. son whose struggles are exhausting to him and to me. He and I are both developing a devotion to Bl. Carlo, and this book was a gift for both of us to share. Antonia graciously shares her memories and quotes Carlo's writing extensively - a gift to the Church. This book is a delight and a great read for moms.
Profile Image for Giovanni Garcia.
2 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2025
I have mixed feelings on this book. I learned a TON about Blessed (soon-to-be Saint) Carlo Acutis. Reading about his great devotion for Jesus in the Eucharist and the authentic love he displayed to those around him made me proud to make Blessed Carlo patron of my missionary work. However, the book did not read like a story but rather a collection of thoughts mostly out of order. There was also a lot of the mom’s personal theology that I was not super interested in. Overall, would recommended maybe the first half or so of the book.
Profile Image for John Doyle.
Author 2 books24 followers
May 1, 2025
Which pious Catholic mom wouldn’t love for her son to be raised to the altars? Although, she may prefer that it be after her own death. Antonia Salzano Acutis is the mom of Blessed, soon to be Saint, Carlo Acutis, a wonderful and holy millennial youth. This book tells his story from her motherly perspective. The book is faith-filled, heartfelt, and genuine. I pray that Carlo’s life may serve as an inspiration to the young people of today and that those of any age who read this book may grow in their love for Jesus, particularly in the Eucharist as well as in love for the Blessed Mother. This is a book you won’t ever regret reading!
Profile Image for Victoria.
94 reviews
August 6, 2025
Only docking a star as this could have used some serious editing to help with paragraph breaks (especially in Carlos’ writing). The content itself is fantastic, and I have been asking his intercession a lot!
Profile Image for Lucia.
49 reviews
June 22, 2024
Absolutely beautiful book, filled with a ton of writing of little blessed carlo. At every page I was amazed at the spiritual maturity he had at such a young age. Although I have to say I really struggled with the Italian to English translation as I felt it was very choppy. This is just my personal preference but regardless I really enjoyed learning much more about his life and upbringing than what you can read about online. Hard to read, but I recommend!
Profile Image for Deirdre Clancy.
253 reviews11 followers
May 25, 2024
To prepare for a trip to Assisi that will take in some sites related to St. Carlo Acutis, I decided to read something about him, and stumbled upon this powerful and tender book by his mother in a Dublin bookshop. In some ways, it feels like an astounding phenomenon to have access to the thoughts of the still-living mother of a soon-to-be-canonized saint. Carlo is known as the Patron Saint of the Internet, due to his coding skills, which were used to build various religious websites. This is more immediate than the stories of saints that children were exposed to in the Ireland in which I grew up, which mostly originated from ancient manuscripts, though were often fascinating nonetheless.

The saints in an Irish context were usually quite subversive of the established (pagan) order. In an Ireland of the 1970s and '80s, where the Church and state were still locking 'wayward' women in laundries to do penance for life, including victims of rape and/or incest, the saints were one way of clinging to a sense of the numinous. The idea that there were people who had existed once who fully got the point of Christianity seemed like an important one to retain.

St. Brigid, who now has a national holiday associated with her (belatedly), was probably the most subversive of all of these, annoying her wealthy, unscrupulous father by giving away his goods to the poor, then later travelling around the country founding monastic communities and performing copious miracles.

Due to the dark parts of Ireland's soul, which were not yet exposed to the light in the '80s, the saints provided a spiritual hope that was sometimes difficult to find elsewhere. If the kids around you were talking about an authority figure who was preying on them (maybe not a priest, but invariably someone bound up with the church in some manner), you had the saints (and in my case, Bob Dylan albums) to save you from total cynicism. For this reason, I always had a hugely soft spot for the saints. They seemed like rockstars, but without the problematic egos and worldliness, going around exposing corruption and spreading expanding cloaks to build houses dedicated to God, their lives a testimony to an undomesticated love that ran contrary to that country club-style Christianity preoccupied with class and respectability that suffused Ireland for many years. That was a social order in which the poor, oppressed, and meek were all too often swept under the carpet.

Despite being exposed to many of these stories related to Celtic Christianity, these figures were somewhat remote from present-day reality. In Italy, on the other hand, saints seem to still proliferate in recent history, and it's easy to understand why, considering the magnificent sacred architecture and heritage everywhere you look there. While the Assisi trip was originally planned to honour a debt to St. Francis, outstanding since 2006, Carlo Acutis is also buried in Assisi, according to his wishes. Apart from summers, he lived mostly in Milan with his very devoted parents.

Antonia Salzano Acutis writes with immense love and moving eloquence about her son, who by all accounts was an extraordinarily religious person with a highly mature faith from a very young age. His journal entries, quoted at length in this book, attest to a spiritual awareness and wisdom that is almost unheard of in any child or teenager, or indeed most adults. His theological knowledge was obviously deep and infused with passion. Whereas even the most committed of Catholics or Christians stumble through life, working out our salvation in painful increments, learning bits and pieces about our tradition as we go along, making reparations belatedly for missteps we only realise late in the day were missteps, Carlo's entire life was about finding ways to get close to Jesus, essentially from toddlerhood.

After spreading cheer and help to many, Carlo died suddenly of an acute form of leukemia in 2006. It was a form of the illness in which symptoms remain hidden until the late stages, so his death truly came as a shock to his family and community. His 15 years on the planet seem to have affected many people for the better, and will likely have a positive ripple effect for generations.

The hundreds of people who turned up to the overflowing church for his funeral included many homeless from the streets of Milan. He had brought them hot meals on a regular basis after discussing the practicalities with his parents. His generosity and kindness to his schoolfriends who were in trouble due to peer pressure or broken homes was also a feature of his life, despite the fact that he was often bullied in school himself. An inevitable form of spiritual tall poppy syndrome meant that various aspects of his character were difficult for his peers to understand; yet he apparently never complained or refused to come to the aid of a schoolfriend in trouble.

This is a fascinating and heart-rending book. Many might find humour in an Italian mother writing a hagiography of her son (the same would apply if it was an Irish mother). However, in this case, the son is actually a bona fide saint, and his mother is quick to point out some of Carlo's flaws, which he worked assiduously to overcome. (Just to note, by the standards of teenagers, they are minuscule.) The canonization process is rigorous, and can often take centuries to complete, but in the case of Carlo, it took 14 years. Testimonies of his kindness, unpretentiousness, and love for humanity, and indeed for animals (especially his beloved dogs), came from many sectors of society. What a privilege it must have been to know him.
Profile Image for Jessika Caruso.
Author 3 books34 followers
October 17, 2025
Absolutely astounding insight into a modern teen’s life of heroic virtue. I loved so many passages and thoroughly enjoyed the testimonies of people who knew Carlo, in addition to his mother, the author. Carlo is remembered by priests, sisters, teachers, parents, and household workers as an abnormally gifted and virtuous young man. Yet, he was also comfortable with his peers and not precocious. I loved this character study on him and glimpses into his journal and personal Bible study. I feel he is my family’s patron, since he entered eternal life on my birthday and helped me grow in love for the Eucharist.

I think Monsignor Poma - St. Carlo’s parish priest - said it best on page 149:

“Carlo was a clear grace, through whom I could see that it is not difficult for a smart and healthy young man to marry the Gospel and celebration, justice and good humor, and intelligence and amiability in his life. Yes, because Carlo was a boy that was so sweetly unaware of his uncommon character traits and just as comfortable in all of the fields of play of his humanity: at home, at school, at youth group, in friendship, in his relationship with God. Grateful to everyone, but a pawn of no one. Always polite, but firm in his convictions. He was able to find time for God, and he did not mind setting aside even the things that were his favorites and which provoked spontaneous interest to do so. Carlo was happy when he paused before God. Then he got up, and he took the secret of that which the Lord asked of him with him. It is a great gift to be able to live in clear and serene sobriety. It is an extraordinary gift when a young man perceives this right from the morning of his life.”
136 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2025
This was a beautiful and inspiring book! Whenever I picked it up I felt inspired to want to pursue holiness and be a saint! St. Carlo was a real gift to all who knew him, and because of his death and canonization, there are many more who have been graced by him, his story, and his holiness.

Initially, I took off two stars because the book could use a fair bit of editing down as I would have preferred to have it include only the mother's reflections, Carlo's writing and reflections, and other first hand accounts, rather than the sometimes expository approach it sometimes took towards explaining Catholic doctrines and supplying quotes from saints that were not directly relevant to Carlo's story. Also, for those quotes that were relevant – many of which I highlighted – it would have been helpful to have a footnote for where the quotes could be referenced. Also, there was some ambiguity surrounding some of the quotes, particularly when it said "Carlo thought that" and the a quote. Was the quote that followed based on something he wrote, or was this just a summary of a belief that he had that the co-author wrote as a sort of synthesis? This would have been helpful to clarify, as otherwise, it almost seems to be a quote of Carlo without it directly claiming to be.

Despite those critiques, I ended up adding back one star because, overall, the book is incredibly edifying, and the fact that I felt inspired to imitate Carlo's holiness each time I picked it up means that this book really achieved what was most important.
Profile Image for David Rees.
86 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2024
4/5⭐

I might be biased due to my background as a leukemia survivor, but Blessed Carlo Acutis lived an INCREDIBLE life in such a short time on this earth.

His writings are truly the inspired words of God, which can only be attributed to Carlo's constant devotion to the Eucharist and the Rosary. There are reflections in this book that are next level, provocative, and draw the heart to a level not often reached.

There have been a few published books on Blessed Carlo Acutis' life thus far, but hearing about his and his passions, his heart, his love for the Lord through his mother was inspiring.

Carlo had such a close connection to the Lord and understood His will for Carlo's life so well. It's almost as if the Lord Jesus Christ was living, moving, speaking, and acting through Carlo each and every day.

By reading this book, Blessed Carlo has inspired me to care more for the poor, to bring Jesus into EVERY moment of my day, to control my passions and temper my desires, and to spend time each day with Mary and Jesus.

My only criticism of this book is that the author sometimes opens the "flood gates" of storytelling and would diverge from her main chapter focus quite often. This made it hard to remember each and every single story and also lessened the importance of the chapter's main theme(s). However, it did not take away from who Carlo came across as.

A beautiful read and one that has encouraged me to live a more holy life.
6 reviews5 followers
May 11, 2023
I recently read "My Son Carlo" and I must say, I was completely captivated by this beautifully written book. Written by Carlo's mother, the story of this young man's life is truly inspiring and heart-wrenching.

As a mother myself, I couldn't help but feel a deep connection to Carlo's mother as she shared the story of her son's life. The love that she has for her son shines through every page, and it's clear that Carlo was a special young man who touched the hearts of everyone he met.

This book is not only a testament to a mother's love, but also to the life of a young man who lived his life with great faith and devotion to God. Through his intercession, I have found myself praying to Blessed Carlo often, and I truly believe that he is a modern-day saint who will continue to inspire and guide us.

I highly recommend "My Son Carlo" to anyone who is looking for a powerful and inspiring read. Be prepared to shed some tears as you delve into the story of this remarkable young man. He truly is a gift to the world, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about his life.

In short, this book is a precious testament of a mother's love and a sacred life. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for inspiration and guidance on their own spiritual journey.
Profile Image for Paul LaGreca.
Author 1 book33 followers
April 30, 2023
I am astounded at the depth of this child Saint, as written by his mother, Antonia Salizano Acutis. I felt very drawn to Blessed Carlo last year as I read tidbits about his life here and there. After, I embarked on the YouTube videos available and was very moved by his story - to the point of tears.

His story is so well-written by his mother and I feel I got to know him on a different level. I was praying to him often while reading the book and could feel his hand in my life. He will be deemed a powerful Saint in the heavens (he already is): patron Saint of the Internet, and of youth. I am so grateful for the gift of his life both for me and for the world.

I highly recommend "My Son Carlo." It is a precious testament of a mother's love, and of a sacred life.
Profile Image for Maygon Brack.
227 reviews9 followers
September 22, 2023
I absolutely loved reading about Carlo. He was wise beyond his years. His life was very remarkable. Reading about his life and learning about the way he lived daily makes you examine yourself and want to become a better person. We are all called to become saints!! I am looking forward to “meeting” his family, which his mom is giving a special presentation after Mass in our diocese!! It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a Saints parents/family!!
Profile Image for Darrin Podeschi.
12 reviews
June 6, 2023
my heart is full because of this book

I am grateful Antonia Acutis wrote this beautiful book about her son Blessed Carlo Acutis, sharing him and his life with us. I now have a personal friendship with Carlo who is in Heaven because of this book. I loved the interplay of her insights with her offering of glimpses into Carlo’s saintly life and his insights. This could be St Monica writing about St Augustine, or a similar saint's mother sharing, but it is most accessible and relevant because it is in our era, our time. This book is one of my favorites. I am so grateful for how God touched my heart through this book. Blessed Carlo please pray for us, and Antonia Acutis pray for us please. Thank you.
Profile Image for Julie aka Booklass.
57 reviews23 followers
May 6, 2025
Beautiful retelling of Carlo Acutis' life from his mother's observations of the soon to be saint. Includes numerous writing's of Carlo's interpretations of the most holy gift of the Lord's presence in the Eucharist, in Adoration of the Consecrated Host as a hope and strenth which is available daily, in the celebration of Mass.
2 reviews
November 22, 2025
A Gift to the Soul

Beautifully written; the life of this amazing Saint whose love for the Eucharist at such young age is remarkable and an invitation for young and old to imitate and ask for his intercession to love the Lord as he did!! Antonia Salzano did a wonderful job putting in writing and sharing her beautiful gift from God: her son Saint Carlo Acutis!!
Profile Image for Casertalaura.
315 reviews4 followers
September 22, 2024
It was very interesting to read about soon to be a saint from his mother's perspective. I enjoyed learning about his life and dedication to the Eucharist even at a very young age. The " first millennial saint" can be an inspiration to the youth of today!
7 reviews
April 17, 2025
Absolutely insane depth of journal entries by a 15 year old. Truly a great Saint, but not for being a “gamer kid” or “computer geek”. The secret sauce of Carlo’s sanctity is not something new or novel, it has remained the same through the centuries, being re-presented throughout time and space.
Profile Image for Stephanie Kelly.
43 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2024
The best, most indepth book I've read on Carlo. You won't get closer to the real Carlo, than the one his mother shares in this lovely book. Carlo's intellect is very moving and inspiring.
Profile Image for Elayne.
67 reviews
January 21, 2025
Beautiful book with great insight into the life of this young saint
Profile Image for regina turner.
31 reviews
January 22, 2025
absolutely blown away. so beautiful! both in content and writing still, this is a really wonderful read.
Profile Image for Joan.
39 reviews
February 24, 2025
The book was not organized in any way. But I liked learning about Carlo and how he lived his life.
610 reviews4 followers
February 27, 2025
A great read about the life of a future Saint!

Blessed Carlo Acutis, ora pro nobis!
9 reviews
March 30, 2025
Seeking to learn more about this saint after our recent visit to Assisi, this book was excellent to learn of his life, catholic spirituality, and miracle intercessions.
Profile Image for John  VanDorpe, LC .
13 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2025
Bl. Carli was more than just a Jesus blogger, he was a mystic. It was great to get to know him better, but the English version suffers from a poor translation.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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