On Sunday, tens of thousands gathered at the Vatican as Pope Leo XIV declared the first millennial saint of the Catholic Church, an Italian teenager known as “God’s Influencer” for promoting faith online.
Carlo Acutis, born in London and deceased from leukaemia at 15 in 2006, was canonised in a moving ceremony at St Peter’s Square, with his family present.
The Vatican estimated around 60,000 attendees, many young people, inspired by Acutis’s life.
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“He seamlessly blended school, football, and his love for IT with unwavering faith,” said Filippo Bellaviti, 17.
He described the atmosphere to AFP as “beautiful,” adding, “Seeing people from around the world, you can feel the affection for Carlo for his contributions.”
Italian Pier Giorgio Frassati, a mountaineer who died of polio at 24 in 1925, was also canonised on the same day.
Tapestries of both young men adorned the front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis remind us, especially the youth, to not waste our lives but to elevate them into masterpieces,” Pope Leo stated in his homily.
He added: “Even illness did not deter them from offering themselves to God.”
Jeans, Nike Sneakers
The canonisation of the “cyber-apostle” has drawn global interest, as his image deviates from the traditional Catholic saint.
His body, preserved in a glass tomb in Assisi, is dressed in jeans and Nike sneakers.
His mother, Antonia Salzano, expressed that her son proved “we are all destined for sainthood… everyone is special.”
She attended the mass with her family, including the siblings he never met. His brother Michele participated in the readings.
Last year, Acutis’s tomb in Assisi drew nearly a million pilgrims, according to the diocese.
Originally scheduled for April but delayed due to Pope Francis’s passing, this was US-born Pope Leo’s first canonisation.
“I’m thrilled to see so many young people!” he exclaimed before the mass.
Eleanor Hauser, 15, from North Carolina, was among the crowd on a school trip. She learned of Acutis through her Catholic grandmother.
“It shows that even at a young age, you can impact the world,” she said.
‘Exemplary Life’
Acutis, born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, had a deep faith despite his parents’ lack of devoutness.
In Milan, he attended mass daily and was known for his kindness to bullied children and the homeless, providing them with food and sleeping bags.
An avid computer gamer, Acutis taught himself coding to document miracles and elements of Catholicism online.
Canonisation involves a lengthy process, including an investigation into whether the required two miracles occurred.
The first miracle attributed to Acutis was the healing of a Brazilian child with a rare pancreatic condition.
The second was the recovery of a Costa Rican student from a serious accident.
In both instances, families sought Acutis’s intercession, leading to his beatification by Pope Francis in 2020.
Frassati was also celebrated for his charity work, having been beatified by John Paul II in 1990.
The Vatican confirmed the second miracle needed for his sainthood in 2024, involving a miraculous recovery of a comatose young American.
