By Father Garrett Braun
From Fields Afar
When first I arrived at Aviano Air Base in July and sat down with my Wing Chaplain (the senior chaplain on base — a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Tulsa), I asked if I could take the weekend of Sept. 7-8off to attend the canonization of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis in Rome. He agreed! When the time came earlier this month, I was doubly blessed to stay at the Pontifical North American College (NAC) seminary in Rome and hang out with Evansville seminarian Dylan Stefanich. The blessings kept coming though!
I called Dylan the day before my trip to ask about the schedule and the possibility of celebrating a Mass privately with him as my server. Always the gentleman, Dylan was plenty willing to accommodate my schedule but also shared that the seminary was hosting guests as part of the canonization weekend. He recommended celebrating a Mass before coming down because the guest speaker would be Antonia Salzano Acutis … Carlo Acutis’ mother! She would speak right after a new documentary was premiered for the seminarians about her son’s life.
I must confess that Carlo Acutis’ story did not fully resonate with me until I knelt at his tomb for the first time in Assisi earlier this year. I was struck by the fact that this young man, who died at the age of 15, was born just one year before I was. In many respects … we were peers. With the help of the Church — her saints and her sacraments, but especially the Eucharist, Carlo had attained what we’re all created for — a Resurrected life through, with, and in Jesus. I was moved by the Holy Spirit in those moments of prayer to believe with renewed conviction that I, too, am called to be a saint and that holiness is possible! With God, how could we settle for anything less?
When Antonia Acutis walked onto the stage, I expected her to share more stories about her son’s saintly life. Instead, this Italian mother, the same one who had only been to Mass a few times in her life when Carlo was born, boldly proclaimed the Gospel to a room full of priests, seminarians, professors, bishops and a cardinal — in English! Her zeal was palpable. She preached a complete catechesis of the faith — our dependence on God, the Church’s Eucharistic mission and the importance of the priesthood. Most of all, she proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. To support her points, she masterfully interwove scripture and quoted her own son, who said that the Eucharist was his “highway to heaven.” Just 36 hours later, I was on that same highway with Pope Leo and a great multitude in St. Peter’s Square as I tearfully concelebrated the canonization Mass of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis! St Pier Giorgio, pray for us! St. Carlo Acutis, pray for us!