Carlo Acutis: A New Movie to Inspire Our Students (and Us Too)
by Rosie Chinea Shawver, MDiv
If you’re looking for a fresh way to inspire students toward deeper faith this year, I want to put something on your radar: the new documentary Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality. This is one of the few movies that I have walked away from feeling truly uplifted and I think you and your students will too. It was released in theaters nationwide from April 27 to May 1, timed to celebrate Carlo’s upcoming canonization. While we still have a little longer to wait for the actual canonization, he will soon be officially recognized as the first millennial saint.
For those of you who don’t know much about him yet, Carlo was a teenager who used his love for technology and the Eucharist to evangelize in creative ways. Before he died of leukemia at just 15 years old, he built a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles from around the world. He was ordinary in so many ways - he loved soccer, video games, and pizza - but he lived with extraordinary faith.
This movie is such a gift for us, especially for the students we serve. Carlo’s story is relatable because he was immersed in the same digital world our students are navigating today. He didn’t reject technology, he transformed how he used it. Roadmap to Reality not only explores his life, but follows a group of high school students who give up their phones for two weeks and go on pilgrimage to Carlo’s tomb in Assisi. It invites all of us to think about what it means to live intentionally, even amidst the noise of modern life.
And let’s be honest, sometimes we as campus ministers need that reminder just as much as our students do. Carlo’s example invites us to ask: how can we re-center our own use of technology around the mission God has given us?
Here’s why I think this matters for campus ministry:
It gives our students a peer model of holiness. They need to see that sanctity isn’t something reserved for a past age, it’s accessible, even now, even in their world.
It connects faith and technology in a redemptive way. Carlo shows that digital spaces can be mission fields, not just distractions.
It invites real conversation. Imagine a movie night, followed by a conversation on digital fasting, the Eucharist, discernment, or sainthood. The possibilities are endless.
It reminds us, and them, that holiness is for today. Not someday. Today. Right where they are.
Carlo shows that living for Christ doesn’t mean withdrawing from the world, it means loving it enough to bring Christ into it. That’s a message our students are hungry for, even if they don’t always know how to name it.
I really encourage you to think about organizing a trip to the theater or even just encouraging your students to go with friends. The movie will only be in theaters for a limited time (April 27–May 1), and you can find more info at carloacutisfilm.com.
If you missed the theater release, keep an eye out, there’s a good chance it will be available for streaming or on DVD soon. It would make a fantastic addition to your campus ministry programming this fall!
As we continue to journey with our students toward Christ, may we, like Carlo, use everything, even our technology, for the glory of God.
Know of my prayers for you, especially during this beautiful season of Easter joy!