The Catholic Weekly 28 June 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 13 28, June, 2020 FEATURE Mikey Schachle, 5, plays with his sister Gianna in the family home in Dickson. PHOTO: CNS/RICK MUSACCHIO,TENNESSEE REGISTER Daniel and Michelle Schachle hold their son Mikey, 5. Five years ago the couple prayed to Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, to intercede with God to save their unborn son who was given no hope of surviv- ing a life-threatening case of fetal hydrops. CNS PHOTO/RICK MUSACCHIO,TENNESSEE REGISTER Future Blessed ‘wasn’t just a web geek’ CARLO ACUTIS, a Lon- don-born Italian teenag- er who used his comput- er skills to foster devotion to the Eucharist and will be beatified in October, of- fers a model of sanctity for Christians in a new era of lockdowns, a British Catho- lic who lived with his fami- ly said. “What’s struck me most is the exceptional simplicity of his formula for becoming a saint: attending Mass and reciting the rosary daily, confessing weekly and pray- ing before the Blessed Sac- rament,” said Anna John- stone, a professional singer and longtime friend of the teen’s family. “At a timewhennew lock- downs could separate us from the sacraments, he’d encourage people to see the rosary as their do-mestic church and find shelter in theheart of theVirginMary.” Acutis, who died of leu- kemia in 2006 at age 15, will be beatified on 10 October in the Basilica of St Fran- cis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. The ceremony had been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic to allow more young people to attend. She said Catholics worldwide had found the information he disseminat- ed “massively affirming” during global coronavi- rus pandemic. Johnstone said Acutis was convinced “good could be achieved through the internet.” She said Catholics worldwide had found the information he disseminated “massive- ly affirming” during global coronavirus pandemic. “He would urge young people today to avoid bad aspects of social media and fake news, and to go to con- fession if they fell prey to it,” said Johnstone, a Cam- bridge University theology graduate who also acted as governess to Acutis’ twin siblings, born four years af- ter his death. “But he would also show how the power of the lay life rests in simple, regular devotions. If we’re forced to stay home, with church- es closed, we can still find spiritual harbour in Our Lady,” she said. Born in London on 3 May 1991, where his Italian mother and half-English father were studying and working, Acu- tis received his first Holy communion at age 7 after the familymoved toMilan. He died on 12 October 2006, a year after using self- taught skills to create a web- site, www.miracolieucaristi- ci.org, which lists more than 100 eucharistic miracles in 17 languages. Johnstone said she be- lieved God had been the “direct driving force” behind the boy’s religious journey, which later brought his agnostic mother, Antonia Salzano, to the faith. “Children sometimes have very intense religious experiences, which can’t be properly understood by others. Though we can’t be privy to what happened, God clearly intervened here,” said Johnstone, who heads rosary groups and ex- hibitions on the teenager. His beatification was ap- proved by Pope Francis in February after recognition of a miracle due to his inter- cession involving the 2013 cure of a Brazilian boy. Johnstone said the “first big surprise” for Acutis’s family had been the huge turnout for his funeral, add- ing that the rector of his Mi- lan parish, SantaMaria della Segreta, had realised “some- thing was happening” when he later received calls from Catholic groups in Brazil and elsewhere asking to “see where Carlo worshipped.” “The family has a new life now, but are deeply in- volved in continuing Carlo’s work, helping with investi- gations and facilitating ac- cess to relevant resources,” said Johnstone, whose fa- ther, a former Anglican vic- ar, became a Catholic priest in 1999. “Although press coverage has stressed Carlo’s role as a computer geek, his greatest focus was on the Eucharist as what he called his high- way to heaven. Though we can’t all be skilledwith com- puters, we can all become saints even during lock- downs, and get to heaven by placing Jesus at the heart of our daily lives,” she said. - CNS technician, she kept looking and looking, she was taking a long time.” The technician eventually showed Michelle an ultrasound picture of the baby’s face with none of the swelling and fluid buildup that was so apparent on the last ul- trasound. This is the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen,” she told Michelle. Dr Mary-Anne Carroll came into the room to talk to Mi- chelle about the ultrasound. Michelle had never met Car- roll before, having dealt with other doctors in the practice. “She started talking about this and that, about what we’re going to do when the baby is born,” Michelle said. “I said what about the fluid in the lungs? She said, ‘A lot of babies have a little fluid in the lungs. It’s called wet lungs.’” “Wait a minute, I was told there’s no hope,”Michelle said. Carroll then realised that Michelle and her baby were the patients she had heard about from the other doctors in the practice. She consulted with her col- leagues who confirmed the baby no longer showed any signs of fetal hydrops. “That was a very interesting and po- tentially unexplained finding,” said Carroll, who now practic- es at the Texas Tech Universi- ty Health Sciences Centre in Lubbock, Texas. “It was an un- expected finding.” Without knowing the his- tory of the case, “I would not have put together that this baby had hydrops,” Carroll said. “It was just there and then it was gone,” Michelle said. “Then we were just pregnant with a baby with Down syn- drome.” Michael McGivney Schachle was born at 2:23 p.m. on 15May 2015, more than two months premature, weighing 3 pounds, 4 ounces. “Michael was perfect just the way he was,” Michelle said. Mikey was still facing seri- ous health issues. Like many babies born with Down syn- drome, Mikey had a heart con- dition that required surgery, which was performed seven weeks after he was born. He spent 71 days in the hospital. At six months, he also near- ly died because of a respirato- ry illness that kept him in the hospital for about six weeks more before he recovered. Today, his health problems are under control and he is an active 5-year-old. “He’s a healthy little boy,” Dan said. “We know this isn’t any- thing we’ve done,” Dan said. “Millions of people have been praying for Father McGivney. We’re the happy beneficiaries.” “We have Michael,” Mi- chelle said. “Michael’s life has changed our life.” Andy Telli is managing editor of the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Nashville. Carlo Acutis, who will be beatified on 10 October. PHOTO: CNS ¾ ¾ Andy Telli