Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), known as 'the influencer of God' for spreading faith through the internet, has been canonized. He is the first saint from the millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1996) in the history of the Catholic Church.
On the 7th (local time), Pope Leo XIII officiated the canonization ceremony for Acutis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, according to reports by the Associated Press (AP) and Yonhap News. Also canonized that day was Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925), an Italian layman who died young in his 20s while devoted to charity for the poor and sick.
During the Mass, Pope Leo XIII noted, 'The greatest danger in life is wasting it outside of God's plan,' and invited 'the two saints to all of us, especially young people, to not waste life and to turn its direction upward to make life a masterpiece.'
The canonization of Acutis and Frassati was decided during the papacy of former Pope Francis but was postponed due to his passing until the ceremony was held on this day. A crowd of over 60,000 gathered. Many of the attendees were millennials and parents with young children.
Acutis was born in 1991 to Italian parents in London, England, and moved to Milan, Italy, when he was young. He passed away at 15 from acute leukemia. Despite his short life, he was a computer prodigy who taught himself coding in elementary school and spread faith by posting extraordinary Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions on a website.
The Vatican investigates and verifies the degree of virtue and the presence of miracles before granting titles such as Blessed, Venerable, or Saint.
In 2013, a 7-year-old Brazilian boy suffering from a pancreatic-related illness was cured after praying for Acutis while holding one of his T-shirts, an incident that was recognized as a miracle, leading to Acutis becoming a Blessed in 2020 as the first of the millennial generation.
Following that, in 2022, a 20-year-old Costa Rican woman, Valeria Valverde, who was critically injured in an accident in Florence, Italy, had a second miracle recognized when she rapidly recovered after her mother prayed at Acutis' tomb.
The Vatican has strived to present a new role model, such as 'the saint next door,' who is an ordinary person but has achieved extraordinary deeds, to the next generation of believers, and much of Acutis' popularity is attributed to this, AP pointed out. Acutis' mother, Antonia Salzano, was quoted by AFP as saying, 'Acutis is proof that we can all be saints and that everyone is special.'