An Italian teenager who loved video games will become the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. The move was approved by the pope and cardinals, and Pope Francis said he would be canonized in Jubilee 2025 (special years of remission of sins among Catholics).
Carlo Acutis, who died at the age of 15 from leukemia, had created a website cataloging miracles in different parts of the world. This earned him the nickname “God’s Influencer”. Born in London in 1991, moved with his parents to Milan, he grew up in a non-religious family, but his nanny from Poland nurtured his faith.
After his death, the body was moved to Assisi. Acutis was beatified after the church confirmed that he had performed a miracle on 10 October 2020. His remains are on display alongside relics associated with him.
Two miracles
However, one miracle is not enough for canonization – two are needed. The claims for each are thoroughly and individually investigated.
The first led to beatification – the declaration of a blessed, or a person who, having performed a proven miracle, has not yet been canonized, but is about to. In the case of Acutis, he is said to have cured a six-year-old boy from Brazil who was born with a pancreatic defect and was unable to eat normally without surgical intervention, which was not performed.
In May of this year, Pope Francis also recognized the second miracle: Acutis healed a girl from Costa Rica who suffered a severe head injury when she fell from a bicycle in Florence. Her mother claims that she prayed at the tomb of Acutis in Assisi.
The remaining step was for the Vatican to confirm that it was proceeding with the canonization. After the ceremony, which is expected to be in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the church will be able to give his name to parishes and schools and will honor him on a feast day.
An image the church needs
The teenager, who died in 2006, is often pictured in jeans and sneakers, and his story is seen as useful for the Catholic Church’s attempts to reach younger generations in the digital age. His canonization was approved along with that of 14 others.
Acutis’ mother says he used to limit himself in playing the PlayStation game because he was afraid of becoming addicted. From the age of nine he helped the homeless in Milan, gave his pocket money to those sleeping on the street, insisted on having only one pair of shoes to help the poor. The Vatican’s official news site quoted a cardinal as saying that he requested first communion earlier than the usual age and that he always helped those in need, in addition to maintaining the sites of his school and parish.
However, he also had worldly pleasures: he played the saxophone, he liked football, he loved animals, he made humorous films about his dogs.
Photo: Ordinary Public Consistory for some causes of Canonization, 01.07. 2024. Source: Vatican News.
