In a grand ceremony held in St. Peter's Square, attended by tens of thousands of believers from around the world, Pope Leo XIV declared Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian known for his deep devotion and use of technology in the service of religion, a saint.
Carlo Acutis is considered the first saint of the “millennial” generation, a figure who already inspires millions of young Catholics around the globe. The Holy Father emphasized in his homily that “Carlo is a living testimony that holiness is not a matter of age, but of love for God and a willingness to live the Gospel in daily life, also through the modern means that time offers us.”
Acutis was born on 3 May 1991 in London, into a wealthy but deeply religious Catholic family. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Milan, where Carlo spent a happy childhood, but marked by a particular spiritual devotion. Passionate about technology and computer science, he read advanced books on programming from a very young age and created a multilingual website to document the Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Catholic Church. This project, completed at a time when building such websites was mainly the domain of professionals, earned him the nickname “God’s Influencer”.
In October 2006, Carlo was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Within days, he died at the age of 15. He was buried in Assisi, the city closely associated with the figure of Saint Francis, where today his body can be paid homage by the faithful, who view him through a glass tomb, dressed in jeans, a simple T-shirt and Nike sneakers.
Since his death, Carlo Acutis has become an inspirational figure for millions of young Catholics, becoming a symbol of modern sainthood. The process of his canonization has progressed with extraordinary speed, reflecting the great spiritual influence he has had on the younger generation.
At the same Mass, Pope Leo XIV also canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati, another prominent figure of the Catholic faith who died young. Born in Turin in 1901, Frassati was distinguished for his life dedicated to the poor and the spread of religion in his social circle. He died in 1925, at the age of 24, after a sudden illness from polio.
The canonization ceremony was originally scheduled for early this year, but was postponed after Pope Francis' death in April. Pope Francis had been a strong supporter of the cause of Acutis' canonization, convinced that the Church needed such a figure to bring young people closer to the faith. The canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati marks a historic step for the Catholic Church, offering two devout young figures as models for today's and future believers. Today's ceremony was seen by many as a moment that connected centuries-old tradition with the language of younger generations.
