By Gavin Boyle
Pope Leo XIV announced that Carlo Acutis, the first millennial set to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic church, will be canonized this fall.
“[With] all the media and technologies, it seems sometimes that holiness is something that belongs to the past. Instead, holiness is also something nowadays in this modern time,” said Acutis’ mother Antonia Salzano.
Acutis, who was born in 1991, and passed away in 2001 from Leukemia. Despite living a short life, he left a major impact on those around him and is remembered as “God’s influencer” for the way he spread the Gospel during the budding years of the internet.
On the surface, Acutis was a normal kid with interests that included video games, all things computers, playing the saxophone, soccer and creating short videos about his dog. However, he also used his computer skills to spread the Gospel, creating a website that documented Eucharistic miracles throughout history.
“A eucharistic miracle involves the body and blood of the Eucharist taking on biological qualities of Christ’s blood, flesh, or both,” explains Catholic World Mission. “These extraordinary events have helped people see the spiritual reality of God’s hand behind the physical world.”
Acutis also devoted many of his resources to help the underprivileged living in his hometown of Milan. He was known to give his money to those living on the streets and spend time helping the homeless, Acutis even told his mother he only wanted one pair of shoes so he would have more to give those less fortunate than him.
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The become canonized as a saint in the Catholic church, one has to have at least two miracles attributed to them. Both of Acutis’ occurred after his death when unexplainable healing happened after someone prayed, asking him to intercede to God for them. The first occurred in 2020 when a Brazilian boy born with a rare eating disorder was healed after his mother prayed to Acutis. The second miracle occurred when a mother prayed for healing at Acutis’ tomb after her daughter suffered severe brain injuries from a biking accident. Her daughter had been given a very low chance of survival but began to make a miraculous recovery that same day and later made a full recovery.
The late Pope Francis had recognized both of these occurrences as miracles, paving the way for Acutis’ canonization, but hewas unable to complete the ceremony before his death. Pope Leo XIV, however, has made plans to continue this recognition, and Acutis will be officially canonized as a saint on Sept. 7, the first of his generation to receive the honor.
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