The canonization of Carlo Acutis has stirred the hearts of young Catholics in South Korea, where the “millennial saint” is already being embraced as a role model for a new generation of believers.
In a report by the Vatican’s Fides News Agency, Auxiliary Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee of Seoul described the saint as “a source of inspiration for young Koreans.”
“We will continue to present him as a contemporary example of holiness, especially for his commitment to proclaiming the Gospel in the digital world,” he said.
The prelate said young Koreans are hoping that St. Carlo Acutis “will be declared the patron” of World Youth Day, noting how Korean youth have already formed a deep connection with Acutis.
“The more than 1,000 young Koreans who came to Rome in August for the Jubilee World Youth Day visited the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi, where Acutis’s body rests,” he said.
The prelate said the canonization ceremony on September 7 reached a wide audience in Korea, with Catholic television stations carrying the event live.
A relic of Acutis, given by his family, is now kept in the chapel of the World Youth Day Organizing Committee’s headquarters in Seoul.
Young Koreans frequently visit the chapel to pray and seek his intercession, seeing in him not just a saint, but a fellow “millennial” who walks with them in faith.
Signs of Acutis’ growing presence are also visible in Korean Catholic life. A statue of the young saint now stands in the courtyard of the headquarters of Catholic Peace Broadcasting and Peace Newspaper in Jeodong, Seoul.
“Now, Acutis’s presence in this place reminds everyone that the mass media can be channels for spreading the Gospel,” Bishop Lee said.
For Bishop Kim Jong-gang, President of the Youth Ministry Committee of the Korean Bishops’ Conference, Acutis speaks directly to today’s generation. The bishop described him as “an example of how to use the internet to draw closer to God.”
“For our young people, born and raised in a digital environment, Carlo’s canonization brings great hope and a sense of challenge,” Bishop Kim said.
“He tells them, with his holiness, that even as teenagers, one can put God first and grow on the spiritual path through prayer and the sacraments,” he added.
The prelate said Acutis is “a missionary figure suited to the digital age” and “exhorts young Koreans to make their digital skills fruitful as instruments of evangelization.”
Following the canonization, Bishop Kim described as “a special gift from God for our time,” Korean parishes and dioceses are preparing catechesis and study sessions dedicated to Acutis.
These will give young people — and the wider Catholic community — a chance to reflect on the saint’s witness of faith and his invitation to live holiness in everyday life.
