A novena to St. Carlo Acutis is nine days of prayer asking the help of the Italian teenager (1991–2006) who loved Jesus in the Eucharist, prayed the Rosary every day, used his computer skills to spread the faith, and offered his sufferings from leukemia for the Pope and the Church. He was canonized in 2025, and many young people, parents and the sick ask for his prayers. Each day of this novena joins a passage of Scripture with a moment from Carlo’s life and a prayer. It is especially fitting before his feast, October 12 (beginning October 3), but you can pray it at any time. Below are how to pray it and the nine days.
A short prayer to St. Carlo Acutis, written for this page:
St. Carlo, you showed that holiness is possible for young people today.
Pray for me in my need: (name your intention).
Help me to love Jesus in the Eucharist as you did, and to use all my gifts for Him. Amen.
How to pray the novena
- Make the Sign of the Cross.
- Read the Scripture and the moment from Carlo’s life.
- Pray the daily prayer and name your intention.
- Finish with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be, and, if you can, a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The nine days
Day 1: The living bread
Carlo called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven.” Jesus said (John 6:51–52, Douay-Rheims):
I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.
St. Carlo, help me to love Holy Mass and to receive Jesus with a pure heart. Amen.
Day 2: Adoration
Carlo often stopped before the tabernacle, saying that in front of the sun we get a tan, but in front of Jesus we become saints (Psalm 33:9, Douay-Rheims):
O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in him.
St. Carlo, teach me to spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Amen.
Day 3: The Rosary
Carlo prayed the Rosary every day and loved Our Lady as his mother (Luke 1:46–48, Douay-Rheims):
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
St. Carlo, help me to pray the Rosary and to trust Mary with my life. Amen.
Day 4: Confession
Carlo went to Confession every week, comparing it to cleaning the balloon of the soul so that it can rise toward God (Luke 15:7, Douay-Rheims):
I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.
St. Carlo, help me to confess my sins humbly and to begin again with joy. Amen.
Day 5: Using our gifts
Carlo taught himself programming and built a website on the Eucharistic miracles of the world (Matthew 5:14–16, Douay-Rheims):
You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.
So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
St. Carlo, help me to use the internet and all my talents to do good. Amen.
Day 6: Being yourself
Carlo said that everyone is born an original, but many die as photocopies. St. Paul wrote to the young Timothy (1 Timothy 4:12, Douay-Rheims):
Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity.
St. Carlo, help me to become the person God created me to be, not a copy of anyone else. Amen.
Day 7: Love for the poor
Carlo used his pocket money to buy sleeping bags and food for homeless people in Milan (John 15:12–13, Douay-Rheims):
This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
St. Carlo, open my eyes and my hands to the poor around me. Amen.
Day 8: Offering suffering
When he was dying of leukemia at fifteen, Carlo offered his sufferings for the Pope and the Church (Colossians 1:24, Douay-Rheims):
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church:
St. Carlo, pray for all who are sick, especially (name), and help us to unite our sufferings with Jesus. Amen.
Day 9: Joy
Carlo was joyful, full of friends and fun, and close to God (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, Douay-Rheims):
Always rejoice.
Pray without ceasing.
In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.
St. Carlo, fill me with joy, keep my eyes on heaven, and grant my intention if it is God’s will. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
When is St. Carlo Acutis’s feast day?
October 12, the day he died in 2006. Start the novena on October 3 to end on October 11.
When was Carlo Acutis canonized?
On September 7, 2025, together with St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Can I pray this novena for healing?
Yes. Many people ask St. Carlo’s prayers for the sick, especially young people with cancer.
More
- St. Carlo Acutis prayer
- Patron saint of gamers
- Patron saint of the internet
- Eucharistic adoration prayers
- St. Pier Giorgio Frassati
- Novenas
Texts and sources
- John 6:51–52, Psalm 33:9, Luke 1:46–48, Luke 15:7, Matthew 5:14–16, 1 Timothy 4:12, John 15:12–13, Colossians 1:24 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (Douay-Rheims).
- The reflections and prayers were written for this page.