A 15-year-old Italian boy who loved video games and coding can be declared a saint this Sunday, becoming the Catholic Church’s first millennial to receive the title. The ceremony will mark the Catholic Church’s effort to attach with a younger generation through a contemporary figure who embraced faith and technology.
Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006, gained international attention after Pope Francis referred to him as “God’s influencer.” He has became known amongst Catholics because the patron saint of the web.
Born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, Acutis was raised in Milan, where his youth was defined by a growing passion for Catholicism.
While his peers were playing video games and watching TV, Acutis attended each day mass, prayed usually and worked on religious web sites from a young age, according to CNN.
He created a digital catalog of Eucharistic miracles that was translated into nearly 20 languages and stays widely used. He also created web sites for parishes and Catholic organizations, while limiting his own screen time to simply an hour of gaming per week.
Francis noted in a 2019 text that Acutis had resisted digital distractions and as an alternative used technology “to speak values and sweetness.”
His rapid rise toward sainthood has included an unusually fast canonization process. Acutis was beatified in 2020, just 14 years after his death.
Last May, Pope Francis approved the second miracle required for canonization, the healing of Valerie Valverde, a 21-year-old woman who survived a brain hemorrhage. The first miracle was the recovery of 6-year-old Matheus Lins Vianna from a severe pancreatic condition in 2010, Vatican News reported.
In Campo Grande, Brazil, where the primary miracle took place, hundreds gathered this week for Canonization Week events. A blue sweater worn by Acutis and classified as a relic was displayed at São Sebastião Parish, escorted there by firefighters on Monday. It will remain there through Sunday’s ceremony, after which it would be permanently housed on the parish.
Public events across the canonization include vigils, processions and a public lunch following the Vatican ceremony, which can be broadcast live from Rome to São Sebastião Parish starting at 4 a.m. local time.
First Lady Mônica Riedel attended considered one of the events and remarked that Acutis’ story “strengthens our Catholic faith.”
This Sunday’s canonization can even be the primary conducted by Pope Leo XIV, who succeeded Pope Francis following his death in April. Their ceremony was originally scheduled for April but was postponed after Pope Francis’ death.
Carlo can be canonized alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati, one other young Italian who died within the Nineteen Twenties. Acutis’ fame has grown steadily in recent times, particularly amongst young Catholics who see him as relatable and approachable.
In Chicago’s Northwest Side, the Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish and college host comic book readings about his life, discussions about miracles attributed to him and lots more and plenty where children carry items linked to him, like a soccer ball or laptop.
At the parish school, eighth-grader Sona Harrison described Acutis as “rather a lot more relatable” than most saints.
“I definitely feel like I’m closer to God after I examine him,” she said, in line with The Associated Press.
Nine-year-old David Cameron told AP he admired Acutis’ ability to limit himself to simply one hour of video games every week.
Acutis was not an ideal student, in line with teachers on the Tommaseo Institute in Milan, where he spent most of his early school years.
His religion teacher, Sister Monica Ceroni, told Catholic News Agency that he often forgot homework and showed up late but was stuffed with curiosity. He had a passion for faith, she said.
Teachers remembered him as joyful and playful, yet also unusually sensitive to those around him. He defended a classmate with mental disabilities who was being bullied and looked out for peers who were neglected at home.
In highschool on the Jesuit-run Leo XIII Institute, he was known to hope within the chapel during breaks and speak confidently about his beliefs, even when his views were unpopular amongst peers.
He stood out from his more affluent classmates by giving up recent sneakers and asking his mother to donate the cash as an alternative. He spoke with classmates about chastity and asked cloistered nuns to hope for individuals who partied and used drugs, CNA notes.
Acutis died in October 2006 just as he began his second yr of highschool.
At his funeral, Ceroni said the church was full, including many poor people. She recalled their last meeting, just weeks before his death, outside the parish church.
“He was completely happy to be back in school. He said he desired to give attention to computer science. I’ll at all times remember him this fashion,” Ceroni said.
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