As sometimes happens in traditionally Catholic countries, Carlo Acutis' parents were culturally Catholic but not very practicing. His mother, Antonia Salzano, told Aleteia in 2022 that she had only set foot in a church three times before being "dragged" there by her son: “My first Mass was my First Communion, my second Mass was my Confirmation, and my third Mass was my wedding.”
The Acutis family never discussed faith.
Yet Carlo became interested in matters of God at a very early age. Even as a child, he showed great piety and a special devotion to Jesus and the Virgin Mary. At only three years old, he didn't want to walk past a church without stopping to greet Jesus in the tabernacle. And during walks in the parks of Milan, he would sometimes pick flowers to place at the feet of the Virgin Mary.
His mother says that while Carlo had a “natural disposition toward the sacred,” his nanny also played an important role in his life of faith.
The nanny was Beata Anna Sperczyńska, a young Polish au pair whom the Acutis family hired for a few years to look after their son.
Antonia says that “Beata was one of the first people to talk to Carlo about God.” She was the one who instilled in him a love for Jesus in the Eucharist, taking him to Mass regularly. She also taught him the basics of the faith, charity toward the poor, and his first prayers.
The first prayer learned in Polish with his nanny
In an interview with the Polish Catholic weekly Niedziela, Beata recounts that the first prayer Carlo learned — very quickly and in Polish — was the one to his guardian angel: Aniele Boży, stróżu mój (“Angel of God, my guardian dear…”).
At first, little Carlo memorized the words without fully understanding their meaning, but later he began to ask questions about what he was saying. Beata also told him about the Virgin Mary, showing him an image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, to whom she was very devoted. She instilled in him a great devotion to Mary, teaching him how to pray the rosary.
In the same interview, Beata also recalls a particularly touching moment when, at the age of three, during a birthday party, Carlo came to her defense. Seeing that some children were teasing her because she was wearing a rosary around her neck, Carlo approached her and told her that her necklace was the most beautiful in the world.
Over the years, Beata was amazed by the natural relationship Carlo had with Jesus, as if he had known him all his life. She herself, raised in a Catholic family in a small Polish village where Sunday Mass was the central event of the week, had a very intimate relationship with the Lord.
Certainly, through her words and prayers, Beata succeeded in passing on to Carlo the faith she had received in her native country, which was inspired in part by the teachings of Pope John Paul II. Her example enabled Carlo to progress towards holiness, to the point where he has been canonized.
This testimony shows how the seed of faith can grow in extraordinary ways and reminds us never to underestimate the impact of a Christian presence on the heart of a child!
