The Secret of My Son

“Many people ask me what secret lies behind my son Carlo, who in just a few years managed to win the friendship and affection of a multitude of people who ask for his intercession in prayer. Why is a simple fifteen-year-old boy, who died at that age, invoked throughout the world? Why does the Church proclaim him a saint? What, in short, is the ‘mystery of light’ that accompanies him? Many have wanted to tell Carlo’s story, but it is not easy to grasp a person’s individuality unless one has entered into a direct relationship with him. If it is true that ‘what is essential is invisible to the eye and can only be seen clearly with the heart,’ as Carlo’s mother I wanted to try to write a book with my heart, to help his many devotees get to know him and love him. A very strong and innate religious sense led my son to open himself to others, especially the marginalized, the poor, and the weak. Carlo always lived with his heart turned toward God. He used to say that ‘conversion is a process of subtraction: less of me, to make room for God.’ Like a beacon in a dark night, he tore through and illuminated the darkness that held me captive and showed me a path oriented toward eternity. The Infinite was his goal, not the finite. Jesus was the center of his life. These are the treasures I am trying to reveal here: Carlo’s treasures, his secret.” Antonia Salzano