"My life purpose is to do the will of God. My ambition in life is to become a saint. There is nothing harder to achieve than this, but I will continue to strive for it."

"Thy Will be done
on earth as it
is in Heaven. "

Charles Untz died at the age of 18, meeting Jesus on March 20, 2000, the Feast of St. Joseph Husband of Mary that year, because March 19th fell on a Sunday. Charles was in front of his house walking to work, when he was hit by a car. The driver "didn’t see him" and lost control of the car.

Charles’ Mom learned what had happened when a policewoman came to the door and asked if she might know the young man who was taken away in the ambulance.

Twenty-seven family and friends were staying at the Untz home for the funeral when an unexpected visitor named Daniel stopped by. He had been driving by just after the accident and had held the bleeding, dying young man in his arms. "There was a sense of peace and God that overcame me. I knew that God was there," he said.

"A happy place" is the title Daniel has given to the spot where he picked up Charles and that is how he feels whenever he drives by.

The policewoman’s memory of that day is just as vivid. "When I touched Charles’ hand I felt God. My life was changed, personally and professionally. "

On his college application, Charles wrote, "I go to Eucharistic Adoration and Mass almost every morning before school. I think that this sets a better mood for the day. "

Charles enjoyed country living, the horses and other animals, and his job across the street at the turkey farm. He especially enjoyed his scouting experiences. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on July 8, 1998. For his Eagle project he wrote an altar server handbook for Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, MN, and directed the training of the new servers.

Before moving west, he and his family mowed the lawn, and shoveled and plowed the walks and parking lot of St. John Bosco Church, Stamford, VT. Charles also mowed the lawn at St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams, MA. Both projects were done as a volunteer.

Charles became an altar server when he was eight. He was the only server at the small parish of St. John Bosco, where he served for 5 years. His family transferred to St. Francis of Assisi where he served for two years. In 1996, the family moved to Andover, Minnesota; and he served at Epiphany Church until his birth into eternal life in 2000. He had that "presence" about him when he was serving that can’t be taught. One could see that he truly believed that Jesus was present.

Charles began praying the Liturgy of the Hours regularly when he was eleven. At the same time, he started serving as a Youth 2000 New England volunteer. He designed the web page, maintained the mailing list, and designed flyers and nametags. During the retreats he was an altar server and sacristan, and the general gopher for whatever was needed. For Youth 2000 Minnesota, he maintained the mailing list, designed the nametags, served at the altar, and was available to help behind the scenes whenever needed.

Charles had a great devotion to Mary. He designed and made his own brown scapular on his Mom’s embroidery machine. On one side was "My Lady" and the other side was "Mary" with twelve stars around it. In 1999, he also made a Mother’s Day card for Mary (this was discovered after his death).

On his "Ambition and Life Purpose" sheet for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, Charles Anthony Francis Untz wrote, "My life purpose is to do the will of God. My ambition in life is to become a saint. There is nothing harder to achieve than this, but I will continue to strive for it. "

(To learn more about Charles’ remarkable life, write: My Lady’s Knight, Inc., 4700 165th Ave., NW, Andover MN 55304.)