Teen Known As 'God's Influencer' To Become First Millennial Saint

The Catholic Church will soon have its first millennial saint, a young man who became known as “God's influencer” after his death at the age of 15.

On Monday, Vatican News reported that Pope Francis and the College of Cardinals voted to approve the canonization of Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, who passed away from leukemia in 2006.

Born in London, England, on May 3, 1991, and raised in Italy, Acutis will be the first person born in the millennial age bracket to be recognized as a saint.

The late teen was a video game lover and web designer who used the internet to share the gospel and document miracles inspired by the Eucharist, the Catholic sacrament in which bread and wine is blessed and recognized by believers as the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Acutis was posthumously credited with interceding in two miracles, feats which are required by Catholic doctrine to attain sainthood.

Acutis is said to be responsible for healing a young Brazilian boy diagnosed with an annular pancreas, a rare congenital disease, after the boy's mother had him kiss a piece of cloth which once belonged to the devout teen.

Pope Francis confirmed the authenticity of the 2013 miracle after a detailed investigation, and in 2020, issued a decree to have Acutis beatified ― the Catholic Church's recognition that the deceased has gone to heaven and can intervene in earthly matters upon being prayed to.

In 2022, a woman from Costa Rica visited Acutis' tomb in Assisi, Italy, in hopes her prayers would help her daughter recover from severe brain trauma spurred on by a serious bicycle accident.

The day she prayed to Acutis, her daughter began breathing on her own. One day later, she regained her ability to walk.

Pope Francis recognized that miracle this May, paving the way to Acutis' sainthood.

Acutis, who was said to be fond of Pokemon and Italian sports cars, was described as “an ordinary boy, simple, spontaneous, likable” by Cardinal Agostino Vallini during his 2020 beatification, per the National Catholic Register.

“He loved nature and animals, he played football, he had many friends of his age, he was attracted by modern means of social communication, passionate about computer science, and, self-taught, he built websites to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values ​​and beauty,” the cardinal said.

Acutis' body lies on display in an open tomb at Assisi's Sanctuary of the Spoliation, where he is dressed in what was said to be his favorite outfit: blue jeans with black Nike sneakers.

The timeline for Acutis' official canonization into sainthood is unclear, but Vatican News reported he will likely be recognized during the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee celebration.