On September 7, Pope Leo XIV announced the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint—Carlo Acutis, also known as “God’s influencer”. The 15-year-old computer whiz used technology to spread the faith, PTI reported.
Leo declared Carlo Acutis, a teenager who passed away in 2006, a saint in front of a crowd of around 80,000 gathered in St. Peter’s Square, including many millennials and young families. He also canonised Pier Giorgio Frassati, another well-loved Italian who died at a young age.
Pope Leo praised both men for turning their lives into “masterpieces” through their devotion to God.
Leo, in his homily, emphasised that “the greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan”, adding the new saints “are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces.”
Who was Carlo Acutis?
Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London to a well-off family that wasn’t deeply engaged in their Catholic faith. Shortly after his birth, the family relocated to Milan, where Carlo experienced a normal and joyful upbringing, though his religious devotion grew stronger over time.
From a young age, Acutis showed a deep interest in computer science, eagerly studying university-level programming materials while still a child.
Why was Acutis known as ‘God’s influencer’?
Acutis became known as “God’s Influencer” due to his major technological achievement: creating a multilingual website that catalogued Eucharistic miracles recognised by the Catholic Church. At the time, building such websites was typically left to professionals, making his accomplishment all the more remarkable.
Acutis was also deeply committed to prayer, often spending extended periods in Eucharistic adoration each day. The Catholic Church has been encouraging this practice, especially since surveys suggest that many Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Acutis restricted himself to just one hour of video games per week, having concluded, well before the rise of platforms like TikTok, that real-life human connections mattered more than digital ones.
His self-discipline and moderation have resonated with the Catholic leadership, which has frequently warned about the risks posed by today’s technology-saturated world.
When he was just 15 years old in October 2006, Acutis became ill and was soon diagnosed as acute leukemia. He passed away only a few days later. His body was laid to rest in Assisi, a city closely linked to another beloved Catholic figure, St. Francis.
