Carlo Acutis, who was born in London in 1991 and died in 2006, will be made a saint by Pope Francis today after two miracles were attributed to him following his death
A teenager born in London, celebrated as a “digital disciple”, is poised to become the first millennial saint today (Sunday, September 7).
Carlo Acutis, who was born in London in 1991 to a wealthy Italian family with his father being half English, gained recognition among many young Catholics, including those in former Pope Francis’ native Argentina. He served as an accessible, modern role model who used technology to share his faith.
Raised in Milan, Carlo became a devout Catholic following his First Communion at just seven years old. He faithfully attended daily Mass, recited the rosary and participated in eucharistic adoration.
However, it was at age 11 when this Catholic youngster began creating his digital exhibition documenting over 100 eucharistic miracles recognised by the church across various centuries. This centred on the real presence of Christ that Catholics believe exists within the consecrated bread and wine, according to the Mirror.
While he pursued typical hobbies for someone his age – rambling, computer games, and having a laugh with friends – he also taught catechism at a local parish and conducted outreach work with homeless people. Tragically, at 15, he fell ill in October 2006, and ten days later, he died from acute leukaemia at a hospital in northern Italy, reports Yorkshire Live.
His remains were later transferred to an Assisi cemetery as Carlo had wished, due to his dedication to the town’s medieval saint, St Francis. Since his death, millions of young Catholics have made pilgrimages to Assisi, where they can observe the teenage Acutis through a glass-sided tomb, dressed in jeans, Nike trainers and a sweatshirt, his hands clasped around a Rosary.
Carlo was declared “blessed” in 2020 after the Vatican recognised a miraculous healing through Acutis’ intercession – a child in Brazil who recovered in a “scientifically inexplainable” manner.
Last year, the church cleared his path to sainthood by crediting him with a second miracle – the complete healing of a Costa Rican student in Italy from major head trauma in a bicycle accident after her mother prayed at Acutis’ tomb. Thousands of faithful are anticipated to attend the ceremony on Sunday for the teenager who mastered internet coding so he could promote his faith in the Catholic church.
He limited himself to an hour of video games a week, apparently determining long before TikTok that human relationships were far more important than virtual ones. And it was Pope Francis who had passionately championed the Acutis sainthood case forward, convinced that the church required someone like him to draw young Catholics to church whilst addressing the promises and perils of the digital age.
Pope Leo is set to canonise Acutis today in his inaugural canonisation ceremony, alongside another cherished Italian, Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Both ceremonies were initially planned for earlier this year but were delayed due to the passing of Pope Francis in April. “Carlo was well aware that the whole apparatus of communications, advertising and social networking can be used to lull us, to make us addicted to consumerism and buying the latest thing on the market,” Francis wrote in a 2019 document.
“Yet he knew how to use the new communications technology to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values and beauty.”
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