The Vatican announced on Thursday that Carlo Acutis, a British-born teenager who died of leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006 it to be recognised as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint
Nicknamed “God’s Influencer,” the teenager was known for his computer prowess and spreading Roman Catholic teachings online. Acutis was born in London in 1991, before his Italian parents Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano moved to Milan.
In his short lifetime, Acutis taught himself how to code, document miracles on a website he created, and provided his tech services to local Catholic organizations. “Carlo was the light answer to the dark side of the web,” his mother Salzano said in 2020, when he was initially beatified and put on the path towards sainthood.
His story “can be used to show how the internet can be used for good, to spread good things,” his mother added.
The Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes—a unit that examines the validity of miracles for the Catholic church—said it has investigated a second miracle relating to Acutis.
After providing evidence to back its investigation, Pope Francis convened a meeting of Cardinals to discuss Acutis’ sainthood. The Pope canonized 912 people, but Acutis would be the first individual born after 1926.
Acutis was first attributed with a miracle in 2020, when a child with a rare pancreatic disorder made a full recovery after coming into contact with a T-shirt belonging to the late teenager.
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