Italian teen could become the first millennial saint
Carlo Acutis used the internet to express his Catholic faith until he died of cancer at age 15
In many ways, Carlo Acutis was a typical teenager. He loved his PlayStation and making videos of his dogs. He favoured Nikes and jeans, and he had a cellphone and an email address.
But in one significant respect, Carlo — who was just 15 when he died of leukemia in 2006 — stands out from his peers: He is on his way to becoming the first millennial to be recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
Carlo, who lived in Milan, was beatified, or declared “blessed” by the Pope, on Saturday after a miracle was attributed to him this year. The ceremony, in Assisi, Italy, was the second-to-last step before Carlo can be canonized as a saint.
Since his death, Carlo has become known in some Catholic circles as the patron saint of the internet for his facility with computers and his early and enthusiastic embrace of the web, which he used as an expression of his Catholic faith.
When he was nine, Carlo began studying computer science textbooks and taught himself computer programming and graphic design, his mother, Antonia Acutis, said in a phone interview. In the months before his death, he created a website that catalogued miracles.
“Carlo was the light answer to the dark side of the web,” his mother said, adding that some admirers have called him an “influencer for God.”
Her son’s life, she said, “can be used to show how the internet can be used for good, to spread good things.”
After his death, the Diocese of Assisi, where his family had a second home, petitioned the Vatican to recognize Carlo as a saint. The diocese dug into his emails and computer search history, and interviewed witnesses. Then they waited for miracles.
Acutis said people from all over the world had told her about medical miracles, including cures for infertility and cancer, that happened after they prayed to her son. In February, Pope Francis attributed the unexplainable healing of a boy with a malformed pancreas to
Carlo after the child came in contact with one of his shirts.
Now that he has been beatified, Carlo could become a saint if a second verified miracle is attributed to him and is recognized by the Pope. A formal canonization ceremony would follow.
If that happens, Carlo would be joining an elite group. Among the more than 10,000 saints recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, just 120 died as children or teenagers, the National Catholic Register reported in 2017.
Hundreds of masked devotees, including Carlo’s parents and siblings, gathered in Assisi last Saturday for his beatification ceremony. Many watched on screens that were spread throughout the town’s piazzas as a church official read a letter from Pope Francis that declared Carlo “blessed.”
Carlo’s body, which was exhumed for veneration this month, was displayed in a nearby church with his preferred wardrobe of Nikes, jeans and a sweater.
Those signs of modernity resonated with many young people who see themselves in him, said Paul Jarzembowski, who leads the U.S. Council for Catholic Bishops’ youth and young adult ministries.
Carlo was not a theological writer or world leader, he said, but rather an ordinary young person with compassion, a drive to integrate faith into his daily life and “a dedication to make the world a better place.”
“He is truly a patron for our self-isolating, digitally reliant times, and for other young people who are now accompanying all of us as we enter more fully into this new normal.”
Born in London to Italian parents, Carlo moved to Milan with his family as a child, his mother said. He enjoyed soccer and video games, including Pokemon and Mario Kart, limiting himself to one hour a week with those games, his mother said.
Carlo sought ways of helping poor, older and disabled people, and refugees. On the way to school, he would stop to chat with people about their problems, she said. He took meals and sleeping bags to homeless people and knew many by name.
At Carlo’s funeral, the church overflowed with people whose lives he had touched, she said.