Description

Carlo is my favorite young Saint. I have been fascinated and inspired by his story basically since he passed.

From a very young age Carlo had a special devotion to the Eucharist, asking his mom, friends, neighbors, anyone he could, to take him to Mass daily after he made his First Communion.

He was enthusiastically interested in everyone he met; from fellow classmates to local gardeners, and joyfully wanted to share with them his best friend: Jesus.

As the internet began to blossom, Carlo wanted to create a website to catalogue all the Eucharistic Miracles in the world; those times where the host physically transforms to flesh and blood or otherwise has some miraculous event like floating outside the church when someone tried to steal it. They are beyond fascinating to read and there are so so many of them. The website is here: miracolieucaristici.org

He worked on the website for two years, and was able to unveil it on Oct 4 2006. However, just a couple days before then, he would begin to feel sick to the point of hospitalization and would pass form leukemia on Oct 12 at just 15 years old.

Carlo’s story is simple. He didn’t do incredible feats. He had a safe and comfortable life with his parents. He was just a kid in the new millennium. He played on his Playstation, invited friends over, looked out for those being bullied.

While the martyrs, especially the young martyrs, give witness that heroic faith is possible for us humans, simple saints give witness that holiness is possible right here, right now.

A deep love of our Lord in the Eucharist is possible right here, in your local church. A deep friendship with Christ is possible right now, in your home, as you’re reading this. And the fruit of the simple love of Jesus can impact all those around you. As the cause for canonization unfolded, witness after witness would testify that Carlo was different. Talking to him was different than talking to anyone else they had met. He loved deeper than others, cared about others more than himself. And was passionate about the Eucharist. Simple things.

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I’ve loved his story and his website since I first stumbled upon it, but if you’ve been around for a while, that date Oct 12 might look familiar (or not lol). It’s the anniversary of Outpouring of Trust, which I launched in 2018. When I launched that date meant nothing, certainly not to me. It was just the first Friday in October after I got my business license and could officially (and legally) begin to take orders online. It bothered me for a long time that I didn’t give my Catholic shop a Catholic feast day, I just barreled on ahead without really thinking or bringing Jesus into that decision.

But two years later in 2020, Carlo would be beatified and the day of his death would become his feast day: Oct 12.

My favorite saint, now sharing a feast day with my launch date. Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but I have genuinely never felt like Heaven was more real than thinking about that series of events. Part of the reason why all my first paintings were of the monstrance or tabernacle was because of the impact Carlo’s website and learning about the Eucharistic miracles had on my belief that the Eucharist is truly Jesus. If I could have chosen any saint to be my shop’s patron it would have been Carlo (in the world where I actually Thought about it). But even if I had thought of him, at the time of launching, he was still a Venerable. He didn’t have a feast day.

Anyway, Carlo is my favorite and I hope you love the image and learning about him. This is my genuine favorite painting that I’ve ever made.

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Have an idea you want me to paint? Feel free to reach out at outpouringoftrust@gmail.com with your idea!

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Images subject to copyright, copyright Monica Skrzypczak. Do not reproduce without explicit written permission. To use the image in print at your parish, or any other use, feel free to email me with the project and number of copies estimated for a quote on a temporary license.