WINTER HAVEN | Parishioners of all ages are exploring the richness of the Catholic faith through the books available at the new St. Carlo Acutis Library at St. Matthew Parish in Winter Haven.

For Claudia Tejada, parish catechetical leader, the creation of a parish library was an unexpected development.

“I started planning to have another youth classroom because we were running out of space,” she said.

Father Nicholas O’Brien, pastor of St. Matthew Parish, told Tejada she could convert a large storage room into a classroom if faith formation students helped clean it out. They were excited to take on the task, and as they cleaned up, they discovered a surprise — a lot of books. They were from a parish library that had closed years ago. After a discussion, they decided to turn the space into a library and spent more than two years during their regular meetings chipping away at the project.

“We started organizing (books) in categories, then labeling them and putting them on shelves,” said Chalea C., a 10th-grader. The library officially opened Oct. 3, 2026, and was blessed by Father O’Brien Oct. 11. The library’s patron is St. Carlo Acutis. A student suggested St. Carlo because the youth group created the library and hope to grow in faith there.

“He shows us that we can love God in everyday life,” Chalea said.

In an era of technological dependency, Tejada said the library serves an important purpose. Tejada operates a phone-free faith formation program, giving a much-needed reprieve for middle and high school students. The library is a distraction-free zone where students can find peace amid their busy lives.

“We’re forgetting that we have books, resources you can use. People usually just go directly to the phone. They don’t stop and think,” she said. “Some of them come and they just go to the library, and they just do their homework there.”

Although the library came together in large part through the work of the parish’s youth, it has resources for all ages — children, teens and adults. There are books on prayer, theology, the lives and writings of the saints, and more.

When Kiara Collado took one of her daughters to a nearby public library looking for books to help her learn more about the faith, it was hard to find Catholic books.

“With this library, I’m sure many families and children are going to be able to enjoy it and get closer to their faith,” Collado said.

Parishioners who want to explore the library’s resources will soon be able to on the LibraryThing app.

“What we’re doing is that we (are) adding all the books through the library (app),” Tejada said. “If people want to know what kind of books we have, they can see it online, and they can just come take out the book.”

The library is currently open on Saturdays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and Sundays between Masses from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

By Lucas Blackwell of the Florida Catholic staff, November 5, 2026