Michigan’s newest college council, named for Blessed Carlo Acutis, will witness his canonization
A dozen members of Michigan’s newest college council — St. Carlo Acutis Council 18672 in Detroit — will travel to Rome to witness the historic canonization of their council’s namesake on Sept. 7.
Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis, a millennial known for his love of the Eucharist and digital evangelization, will be canonized alongside another saintly Italian youth, Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925.
Blessed Carlo is especially relatable to the members of Council 18672, which serves students of Wayne State University and several other Detroit-area colleges.
“It really just made a lot of sense to name the council after him,” said Shaun McGrath, the council’s charter grand knight and a senior nursing student at Wayne State. “Carlo was a young tech guy, and he is one of the patron saints of our campus ministry. He is so relatable in the sense that holiness is attainable for everyone, especially young men.”
The council grew organically out of the vibrant Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry, which includes students from Wayne State, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, and the College for Creative Studies. Council 18672 was chartered in early 2025, and since its first exemplification on Feb. 1 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Detroit, it has grown to include 35 members, most of whom are active in campus ministry.
“The council has been an incredible blessing for all of campus ministry since it started,” said Father Matthew Hood, chaplain to both the council and Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry. “It’s been a source of renewal and a great opportunity for community and brotherhood for these young men.”
The idea for the council arose in late 2024, when several students began organizing informal men’s nights and discussing how to grow in faith and fraternity.
“We already had the Knights of Columbus visiting our campus ministry to help with our Sunday suppers, which are a big community event after our 5:30 p.m. Mass,” McGrath recalled. “We saw the Knights helping out, and it seemed like a perfect fit to unite the men.”
The Order’s principles resonate deeply with college men seeking to grow in holiness, Father Hood said.
“The Knights provide this very specific mission as a fraternal, charitable presence in the Church, and it gives these young men ownership of that,” he explained. “The council supports our campus ministry in the things that need to be done.”
This past spring, the council hosted two Lenten fish fry fundraisers to support kneeler repairs at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. Returning members plan to host a series of events this fall: a welcome Mass and barbecue, a daylong men’s retreat, weekly Sunday rosaries and more.
But the highlight of the semester will be the canonization pilgrimage, led by Father Hood and supported by a grant from the Supreme Council.
“It’s very unique that we have a council dedicated to St. Carlo Acutis, and the fact that it’s a brand-new college council really shows the potential of the Knights of Columbus,” Father Hood said. “The support of the Supreme Council is so encouraging — to say we really want to invest in the future of the Knights and in these young men.”