By By Micheal Chukwuebuka
POPE Leo XIV has declared Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old computer prodigy who harnessed technology to spread the Catholic faith, the Church’s first millennial saint.
The canonisation took place today, Sunday, September 7, at an open-air Mass in St Peter’s Square before an estimated 80,000 worshippers, many of them young couples and millennials.
Acutis, who died of acute leukaemia in 2006, earned the nickname “God’s Influencer” for using his computer skills to design a multilingual website documenting Eucharistic miracles. His canonisation was celebrated alongside that of Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian layman who died of polio at 24 and is remembered for his service to the poor.
Pope Leo XIV
In his homily, Pope Leo urged young people to look to the saints as examples of lives made into “masterpieces” through faith. “The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan,” he said.
Born in London on 3 May 1991, Acutis grew up in Milan, where his religious devotion intensified during childhood. While gifted in computer science and already studying university-level programming at a young age, he limited himself to just an hour of video games each week, preferring prayer and human relationships over virtual distractions. He was known to spend long hours in Eucharistic adoration — a practice the Church has sought to revive amid waning belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Acutis’ sudden death in October 2006 shocked many, but in the years since, millions of pilgrims have travelled to Assisi, where he is entombed in jeans, trainers and a sweatshirt, visible through a glass casket. His preservation has drawn wide attention, with even his heart travelling the world as a relic.
Pope Leo XIV
The canonisation ceremonies had originally been scheduled earlier this year but were postponed following the death of Pope Francis in April. Francis had strongly championed Acutis’ cause, convinced that the Church needed a relatable saint to inspire younger generations in the digital age.
The Vatican reported that 36 cardinals, 270 bishops and hundreds of priests concelebrated the Mass, underscoring the significance of the occasion. Pilgrims filled St Peter’s Square well before the service began, including many young Italians with children in prams.
“It is important to have him as an influencer, even on social networks that are so widely used,” said Leopoldo Antimi, a 27-year-old pilgrim from Rome.
Matthew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts, described Acutis as “a new saint of simplicity for the ever-complex digital landscape of contemporary Catholicism.”
Much of Acutis’ popularity has been fostered by the Vatican’s campaign to present him as a “saint next door” — an ordinary boy who achieved extraordinary things. For many young Catholics, he has become a patron figure for navigating both faith and technology in a rapidly changing world.
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