Pope Leo XIV has canonized Carlo Acutis, a boy who died at the age of 15 from leukaemia and dedicated his short life to Catholicism and computers.
A modern saint, Carlo received attention as a generational role model — known as “God’s influencer.”
Acutis passed away in 2006 from leukaemia. He left behind a multilingual website documenting Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Catholic church.
Pope Leo canonized Carlo Acutis during an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square attended by circa 80,000 people.
Observers noticed that much of the crowd was made up of millennials and couples with small children.
Carlo spent hours in prayer every day, limiting himself to an hour of video games per week – part of why the Catholic Church, which has warned about the dangers of virtual overconsumption, sees him as an example for young people.
The Vatican has been hoping for an “ordinary saint” that modern people can relate to. Saints are very diverse but the classical version involves dramatic and gory feats.
Pope Francis pushed this campaign strongly, and had already signed for the canonization, but passed away before he was able to complete rites himself.
“He becomes an emblem or model of how Catholics should approach and use the digital world–with discipline and with a focus on traditional Catholic spirituality that defies the passage of time”, points out Matthew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross college in Worcester, Massachusetts.
His glass coffin, in which his immaculate body lies, can be visited at Assisi. Millions travel there yearly to see him, as he lies as if sleeping, in jeans, a sweatshirt, and Nike sneakers.
