My Carlo is finally a saint

Today is such a fantastic day. The whole day is a blessing. Today was the canonization of Carlo Acutis. I'm not going to explain who Carlo Acutis is, you can find that out for yourself.

I left the hotel early this morning, just after seven. I couldn't walk towards St. Peter's Square. I walked away from it and stood at the back of the long line. We moved forward little by little. It was very slow. I prayed the morning prayer very quietly, prayed the rosary, and then there was still time left. In the end, I stood in line for more than two hours. Normally, I hate standing in line, but now I did it because the goal was greater than my impatience. Although I must say, without boasting, that my patience was greater than that of some of the religious sisters, as they tried to push in. But yes, thousands of us had to wait.

I was extremely lucky. I was in Rome in April for the canonization, but Pope Francis had just died. When we were at the World Youth Day Mass, it was also extremely crowded. I stood among the crowd in the blazing sun. Today was also a beautiful day, but I was in the shade the whole time I was waiting in line. When I entered the square, I had no idea it was already full and that the people behind me were being turned away. I may not have had the perfect view, but I was in the shade.

Since I had also been at a canonization last October, I knew that the booklet was also available digitally. I was able to follow the Mass very well, and my Latin has also improved quite a bit in recent years. As a Dutchman, I was able to sing along with the Litany of All Saints, the Gloria, and the Credo in Latin. That is quite a challenge for most Catholics worldwide.

I arrived at the square very late. The Pope said something, but I still had to go through customs. For example, I didn't understand that you weren't allowed to use your phone; I only heard about this later. But of course, it's a Eucharistic celebration, so with a little common sense, you know that's not the intention. At least not during the consecration.

But because I knew when Carlo Acutis would be canonized, I filmed this prayer in its entirety. It was a fantastic moment. I got goose bumps all over my body. It had finally happened. I felt such great joy.

Communion was also a great source of happiness. Receiving communion at such large celebrations is extremely difficult. You have to squeeze through a crowd of people to get to the priest who is distributing communion. People come back and you let people go ahead of you. It's a lot of pushing and shoving. You have to be a little assertive. We Dutch wait our turn, but that's not how it works here. I let a couple go ahead of me. I ended up reaching the priest via a different "path." Just before receiving communion, I ran into the couple again. This time, they let me go ahead of them. The altar boy nervously said that there wasn't enough. I went to communion and looked in the ciborium. There were only three hosts left in the ciborium: one for me and two for the couple.

So these are all moments of happiness. God has tested me by sending me to Rome for the third time for Carlo Acutis. But this has been richly rewarded: being the last to enter the square while the hundreds of people behind me were unlucky, a place in the shade, and being the last to receive Communion.

Saint Carlo Acutis is there for us in times of acute need. Not only for computer problems, but for everything and always. Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for us.