With a vision to use theatre as an opportunity to glorify God, Anna Harrison from Sydney Catholic Youth, embarked on what at first seemed an impossible task—to write and direct a play on a saint.
After months of hard work, the children from the parish of St Joachim in Lidcombe took centre stage on the evening of 12 October in the parish hall to share the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis in “Highway to Heaven.”
“Earlier this year Fr Epeli had the vision to put on a play with children as a way of engaging them in the faith and life of the church,” Anna explained.
“Originally, he asked me to do something around Fatima, but family, friends and colleagues kept asking ‘Oh what about Carlo?’ So, I took his prayer and discerned.
“Then one day a parishioner told me the children’s ministry room had been named the Carlo Acutis room. I took that as a sign that we needed to think about Blessed Carlo Acutis.”
Inspired by examples of parables Jesus gives in the Gospels, Fr Epeli, parish priest of St Joachim, recognised the importance different forms of art have in evangelising people.
“I wanted to do this because I can see families want ways to connect with the church and God,” Fr Epeli said.
“For this generation of families and young couples, it’s not how it used to be. I picked up on our Lord’s example on parables, and realised that a play is another way of telling a story.
“The whole faith of the church has this element of play… I chose that it should be written for children because the essence of play is very much part and parcel of being a child.
“With the example of the saints, that childlike play is guided to talk about something deep and true, but still fun.”
Speaking to parents and the lead actors who played the blessed, it was evident this form of evangelisation brought about good fruit and a deeper understanding God.
“I wanted to tell Carlo’s story. The experience makes me feel closer to him and to God,” said Christopher, who played the blessed as a teenager.
“He likes learning about God. This initiative is absolutely fantastic in teaching the kids about God and the saints that needs to be done again,” said Robert, Christopher’s dad.
Gabriel, who played the blessed as a child also found the experience to be a helpful step in getting closer to God.
“He was so into it. We got the book about Blessed Carlo as soon as he told us he got the part,” said Trish, Gabriel’s mum.
“He knows more saints now and is googling them. Out of the blue he’ll tell us about a saint and give us the history about them.”
At only 15 years old when he died from Leukaemia, Blessed Carlo Acutis was an Italian website designer who spent his life helping the poor and documenting Eucharistic miracles to help bring people to God.
His life is a message of perseverance, courage and charity that will now see him become the first millennial saint in 2025.
“We’d love to do this again, considering his canonisation will be next year, so it would be wonderful to do again,” said Anna.
“I’m really proud of the kids and I hope that everyone involved in this and everyone who witnessed this will hopefully be inspired by Carlo and in the process fall more in love with Jesus because that’s what it’s all about.”