Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish’s St. Hedwig Church, 2226 N. Hoyne Ave., is now home to a unique mosaic of the image of Carlo Acutis, the Catholic Church’s soon-to-be first millennial saint, created mostly out of small toy soldiers.
On July 23, the parish welcomed the mosaic’s artist, 25-year-old Johnny Vrba, a native of Geneva, Illinois, for a presentation and blessing.
The presentation followed a July 15 Mass at St. Hedwig Church with Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, archbishop of Assisi, Italy, to hear about the parish patron and venerate a relic of tissue from his heart. The archbishop oversees the care of Acutis’ tomb in Assisi and promotes his cause.
Acutis was a deeply devout teen who taught himself coding and created a website documenting eucharistic miracles. Through this action, he captured global attention for his joyful faith and digital evangelization, and has been widely embraced by young Catholics around the world. Pope Leo XIV is expected to canonize him Sept. 7.
The archdiocesan parish is the only one in North America named for the teen, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
The mosaic of Carlo Acutis is a replica of the original mosaic, which Vrba presented to Acutis’ mother earlier this year.
Parishioners Kelly and Michael Legamaro commissioned the mosaic and donated it to the parish. The couple met Vrba during a random encounter in Rome in April, while they were there for what was to be Acutis’ original planned canonization date of April 27. That was delayed because of the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
“The First Millennial Saint” mosaic is 3 by 4 feet and was created in a meticulous process from a thousand individual toy figures. Vrba created a three-colored version of the iconic photograph of Acutis in his red polo with a backpack, drew the image on wood and then covered it with layers of non-porous acrylic paint.
Then he used liquid cement to adhere thousands of miniature army figures, covered with spray paint and hand painting. The figures were divided into groups for precise placement. One by one, Vrba glued the pieces to the wood.
In addition to biblical references and various moments in Acutis’ life, Vrba’s work includes figures of Acutis’ four dogs and two cats; two soccer balls as a nod to Acutis’ love for the game; various Pokémon scattered around the piece to mark one of his favorite video games; a green motherboard representing Acutis’ love for computers and his knowledge of coding and technology; and references to Acutis’ two miracles.
During a presentation of the mosaic to the parish, Vrba explained the various aspects of the three-dimensional mosaic and the meanings behind them.
The mosaic is on display at St. Hedwig to the left of the altar and will eventually move to a permanent location, along with two statues of Acutis donated to the parish by sculptor Timothy Schmalz, said Resurrectionist Father Ed Howe, pastor of Carlo Acutis Parish.
“There are many images of Carlo Acutis, but there are none like this because this came from Johnny’s inspiration,” Howe said.
Vrba did not expect to create a second mosaic, which he called “Carlo 2.0,” until meeting Kelly Legamaro in Rome.
“There were so many synchronicities,” Vrba said in an interview after the presentation. “Even though the pope’s passing delayed the canonization, meeting Kelly was divine providence because now there are two pieces that exist.”
Kelly Legamaro first learned about Acutis when her parish brought his exhibit of the miracles of the Eucharist to St. Hedwig. She fell in love with Acutis and has been promoting him ever since. She even has had clothes created that bear his image.
On the night of the mosaic presentation, she wore a custom dress with the image of the mosaic printed on the front and back.
Legamaro said meeting Vrba in Rome was all God’s providence. She and her husband were with Archbishop Sorrentino when someone introduced him to Vrba.
Moved by Vrba’s story and the mosaic, they decided to commission the mosaic. Legamaro hopes the image will help spread the story of Acutis, especially to young people.
During the July 23 presentation, Vrba’s family and friends came out to support him.
Ann Marie Vietti is a friend of Vrba’s mother and has known him since he was born. He always had gift for painting and drawing, she said.
“He’s always been an incredibly high-energy kid, and now, young man,” Vietti said. “It’s just been super exciting to watch his journey.”
Her children have learned about Acutis through Catholic school.
“More and more young people can be inspired by Carlo and see that is cool to hold on to their faith and to act on their faith,” Vietti said.
Vrba’s family is already moved.
“The first word that comes to mind is ‘astounded’ with Johnny’s belief in the Catholic faith,” said John Vrba, Johnny’s father. “He is trying to spread the joy like St. Carlo did.”
For a detailed description of the mosaic, visit carloacutisart.com.