So, what happens when you take a group of kids to Italy for a couple of weeks but deny them the use of their cell phones and laptops for the entire trip? That might seem like an odd question to begin a discussion of the new documentary on a soon-to-be saint, but it turns out the answer to that question is central to understanding the importance of Carlo Acutis and the example he left for us in these seemingly always plugged-in times. This question is also what makes Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality, the new film from Castletown Media and Wahl St. Productions, stand out from other documentaries about the first millennial to make his way through the canonization process.
Like any documentarian worth their salt, the filmmakers spend time interviewing those who knew Carlo best while he was still with us, from close family members to his childhood babysitter. They all paint a similar picture of a curious child who, even at the age of three, began to take an intense interest in Catholicism, despite his mother by her own admission not being very religious at all. He took a special interest in saying the Rosary and was fascinated with the whole idea of the Eucharist. There was, they all say, something special about Carlo from the beginning.
Normal teen life
However, one thing that was completely normal as Carlo entered his teenage years was his love of computers in general and video games in particular. Like many teens (or middle-aged guys these days, if we’re being honest), he loved a good session of Halo or Mario.
Yet even in this, Carlo was a bit different. He famously limited himself to just one hour of gaming a week to avoid wasting time that could be spent doing more important things such as his personal project to create an online database of Eucharistic miracles from around the world.
Which brings us back to the original question. Sadly, Carlo passed away in 2006 from leukemia at the age of 15. Since then, his cause for canonization has proceeded and his burial site has become a pilgrimage destination. A significant portion of the documentary involves following a group of students traveling to Assisi to visit the site but doing so under one strict condition. They aren’t allowed to bring any technology with them. How’s a modern teen to survive such an ordeal?
Not very well at first, it seems. Most of the teen tourists interviewed experienced some form of withdrawal for at least a day or two, as if the lure of social media was an addictive drug they had to wean themselves from. By the end of their journey, though, many of them found the experiment freeing, allowing them to have a much deeper spiritual experience than they otherwise would have.
Living in reality
This, the filmmakers point out, is why the canonization of Carlo Acutis is so relevant. His insistence that one must take the time to step away from the disincarnated online world and actually live and breathe in the real one is a much needed message for this era. They also see a link between this philosophy and Carlo’s deep interest in the Eucharist. As one priest interviewed for the documentary notes, the Eucharist is a physical thing that works through the body, and it brings with it a real connection to God and those who partake in it that simply cannot be experienced virtually.
So, what happens when you take a group of kids to Italy for a couple of weeks but deny them the use of their cell phones and laptops for the entire trip? Perhaps the same thing that could happen if we all followed in the footsteps of Carlo Acutis, took an occasional break from staring at a screen, and lived in God’s creation for a bit. At least, that’s what the makers of Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality want us to consider anyway.
Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality is playing in theaters now.
