A UK-born teenager, who died in 2006 from leukemia, is poised to become the Catholic Church’s first “millennial saint.
“Carlo Acutis, born in 1991 in London, was a computer prodigy who created websites to promote the church’s teachings online before his death. He has been referred to as “God’s influencer.”
After he died in Italy, where he resided with his parents, his body was moved to a tomb, where it lay on display along with his belongings.
The 15-year-old was put on the path of sainthood after a seven-year-old Brazilian boy reportedly recovered from a rare pancreatic disease after he touched one of Acutis’s t-shirts and a priest prayed to him on behalf of the child.
The recovery was considered miraculous after it was evaluated and approved by the Pope. In Catholicism, a person qualifies to be a saint if two miracles are attributed to them and validated by the Pope.
Carlo Acutis is the only person born in the 1990s to be canonized
On Thursday, Pope Francis approved a second miracle attributed to Acutis, qualifying him for canonization.
A university student in Florence suffered a brain bleed after a bicycle accident and was in critical condition, her family was informed.
Days after her mother prayed for her recovery at Acutis’s tomb, she claimed her daughter was taken off the ventilator, and 10 days later, scans showed her brain injury had disappeared.
Acutis is the only person born in the 1990s to be canonized. The last person to be canonized by Pope Francis was born in 1926.
Even as a child, Acutis exhibited signs of religious devotion. His mother told local media that he would ask her to visit churches at the age of three to donate his pocket money to the poor.
The teen taught himself to code to create websites for Catholic organizations, including one that documents miracles witnessed worldwide.
This website has now been translated into multiple languages.