Camp Carlo – Adventure Awaits!
There is still time to register for Blessed Carlo Acutis Youth Camp, fondly referred to as Camp Carlo!
The diocesan Catholic youth adventure camp is for boys and girls in grades 3-12. This year’s four camp weeks range from June 29-July 26.
Situated in the picturesque Tygart Valley mountains in Huttonsville, Camp Carlo is dedicated to leading young people to Christ & His Church. Campers and Counselors grow in Christ’s love while backpacking up a mountain, horseback riding through hidden trails, sliding down mystic waterfalls, and gathering in front of the true Presence of our Lord during Mass and Adoration.
Camp Dates:
June 29 – July 5– High School Week
July 6 – July 12– Catch All Week #1
July 13 – July 19 – Catch All Week #2
July 20 – July 26– Catch All Week #3
Camp was named in honor of a millennial Catholic on the road to sainthood Blessed Carlos Acutis in 2021. The Italian teen was beatified on Oct. 10, 2020. He is described by his family and friends as a seemingly average teen, who was most commonly dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, and sweatshirt. Acutis loved the outdoors, video games, sports, and computers. He also enjoyed school mainly because it was a chance to hang out with friends. He was actually considered a computer expert for his age, having learned programing in elementary school at a collegiate level. While he was extremely savvy in and enthusiastic about technology, he was also devoted to something else on an extraordinary level – Christ and the Church. His faith has been described as “pure and certain.”
He went to Mass every day. When people would ask him what his plans were for the future he would say, “To always be close to Jesus. That’s my life plan.”
He was surprised, as he grew older, that his friends did not have the same devotion and need for Christ in their lives. He frequently told his friends that the “Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” He hoped the same for them. He knew the power of the internet and chose to use it as online evangelization. He created a website dedicated to the Eucharistic Miracles of the World – http://www.miracolieucaristici.org. There he presented his research as a virtual museum.
Blessed Carlo died in 2006, at the age of 15, a week after he was diagnosed with leukemia.
His friends and family continue to carry on the website and Acutis’ hope that it will bring people to Church and the Eucharist. The site is presented in 17 languages and the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit can be downloaded as posters for free.
The story of Carlo not only provides inspiration and relatability for today’s youth, but also provides all the faithful an example of how we can be modern day saints.
Register now at: http://campcarlowv.org
The New Directors
You Know Them Already
Seminarians Michael J. Tupta, of Charleston, and Reece Lopatka, of Morgantown, will be co-directors of camp this summer.
Tupta is in seminary in Rome at the Pontifical North American College. A parishioner of the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Charleston, he is excited to spend his summer assignment for the diocese serving the youth – the future of the Church.
“I look forward to directing the camps with my brother seminarian Reece and discerning how our Lord Jesus desires to have a profound encounter with all of us this summer, especially through His presence in the Most Holy Eucharist,” Tupta said.
Blessed to be in Rome in this significant year for the Church, Tupta wrote a column for FaithInWV published May 18th. Read it here: https://faithinwv.org/e-bulletins/
Lopatka is in seminary at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He is a parishioner of St. John University Parish in Morgantown. A graduate of West Virginia University in 2023, he worked as a K-12 substitute teacher in Monongalia County prior to entering seminary last year.
“I’m excited to work with the team at Camp Carlo this summer,” he said. “I pray and hope this year’s camp will continue to be a place of encounter with our Lord through fellowship, prayer, and adventures in the hills of Huttonsville!”
It’s Camp’s 60th Anniversary
The Catholic camp was founded 60 years ago in Randolph County as Camp Tygart!In The News
Our Sunday Visitor national newspaper, June 2024 (just after Blessed Carlo Acutis’s canonization confirmation was announced). Article: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/news-commentary/carlo-acutis-youth-camp-officials-overjoyed-about-namesakes-canonization/The National Catholic Register, July 27, 2024: https://www.ncregister.com/features/camp-carlo
EWTN News In Depth: Jubilee Year Special, Jan. 3, 2025 (39-minute mark): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19A2nAYQ2V/ – (Assistant director of camp for 2025 Joshua Christe is featured in the piece)
