In September 2025, the Italian magazine Vita published an exclusive interview with Beata Anna Sperczyńska, the Polish nanny who cared for Carlo Acutis between the ages of two and five.
In the conversation, she recalls simple yet profound moments from the saint’s childhood and shares her role in introducing Jesus to that extraordinary boy.
At the heart of Saint Carlo Acutis’ childhood was a humble woman from a small village in Poland, who helped him take his first steps—not only in life, but also in faith.
Her name is Beata Anna Sperczyńska. Now an executive in New York, she spent three years as Carlo’s nanny in Milan, caring for him between the ages of two and five.
It was from her that the young saint learned his first prayer—the “Angel of God”—in Polish:
“Aniele Boży, stróżu mój…” (“Angel of God, my guardian…”)
Beata recalls:
“Every night, he would recite this prayer as if it were a lullaby. Then we would fall asleep in the same room, and I felt like Heaven was watching over us.”
“He chose me.”
Beata was just 21 years old when she arrived in Italy in 1993. She came seeking work—but found a mission.
By chance—or providence—she was hired by Carlo’s grandparents to care for him during the holidays. Soon after, his parents, Antonia and Andrea, invited her to live with the family in Milan.
“I felt like he chose me. I was the first person to tell him about God. Carlo didn’t know who Jesus was—and since then, he’s never stopped looking for Him.”
Once, Beata says, she took Carlo to the church of Santa Maria Segreta—the same church where, years later, his funeral would be celebrated.
"We lit a candle, and I told him about Jesus. When we got back, Carlo told his parents everything, who were apprehensive—they weren't practicing yet. So I told him we wouldn't do it anymore. But the next day, he said to me, 'Bea, I can't miss visiting my friend. This will be our secret.'"
Of course, the secret did not last.
“Carlo came home happily telling everyone everything! From that day on, he never went a single day without going to church.”
Faith in simple things
Beata says she often took off her shoes with Carlo and walked barefoot on the wet grass of the Pagano gardens in Milan:
“I told him that nature is a gift from God, and that walking barefoot reminds us that we are part of creation.”
At night, the two prayed the Rosary. Carlo used a small ten-bead rosary that he held as he fell asleep.
“In the morning I would find the rosary on my pillow,” she recalls, smiling. “Bea, it’s the most beautiful necklace in the world!”
One instance, in particular, stayed with Beata:
"We went to a birthday party. I was wearing my rosary around my neck, and some of the mothers laughed at me. Embarrassed, I hid it in my shirt. Carlo noticed and said, 'Bea, it's the most beautiful necklace in the world! Never hide it!'"
"Even today, when I think about it, I get emotional. He was only four years old, but he already saw things with purity and courage."
“He made me mature.”
Beata left the family home in 1996 when she got married.
“It was painful. He cried a lot. So did I. But the love between us remained.”
Even afterward, she continued to visit Carlo and his parents, and the boy played with her son, Konrad.
“He grew up, but he didn’t change. He was still happy, curious, and full of light.”
Today, so many years later, Beata sees the little boy she once cared for as a saint:
"I feel chosen. Carlo is part of my life, and I thank him every day. I know he's still close to me. His canonization is just the beginning of an extraordinary story."
The first testimony of faith
Perhaps no one could have imagined that the little boy who learned to pray in Polish alongside his nanny would one day become one of the most beloved saints of the digital generation.
But as Beata Anna Sperczyńska herself said, in a serene voice:
"Carlo's holiness began in the little things. In his smile. In his prayer before bed. In his friendship with Jesus."
“The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven.”
And perhaps, it was a Polish nanny who first showed him the way.