Pope Leo XIV today canonized a 15-year-old "computer wizard," the first millennial saint, who used technology to spread the Catholic faith and earned the nickname "God's Influencer."
The pope canonized Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006, holding an open-air Mass in St. Peter's Square in the presence of tens of thousands of people, many of them millennial couples with young children. During the ceremony, the pope canonized another popular Italian figure who died young - Pier Giorgio Frasatti, known for helping the poor.
The Vatican said 36 cardinals, 270 bishops and 212 priests had signed up to celebrate Mass alongside Pope Leo, showing how much these young people are appealing to the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as "ordinary" believers.
Pope Leo, the first American pope, appeared unannounced before the crowd before the start of the mass and welcomed, as he put it, "such a large number of people who have come for this mass."
Both canonization ceremonies were scheduled for earlier this year but were postponed due to the death of Pope Francis in April. Pope Francis has been a vocal advocate for the teenager's canonization, convinced that the church needs someone like him to draw young Catholics to the faith as it grapples with the promises and dangers of the digital age.
An hour before Mass, St. Peter's Square was already full of pilgrims, many of whom were young Italian millennials who saw in Acutis a contemporary role model they could relate to.
Acutis was born on 3 May 1991 in London, to a wealthy Catholic family. They returned to Milan shortly after his birth and he had a typically happy childhood, but one marked by a growing religious commitment.
Akutis was particularly interested in computers and read university-level books on programming even as a child. He earned the nickname "God's Influencer" thanks to his main technological legacy, a multilingual website documenting the miracles of the communion recognized by the church, a project he completed at a time when the development of such portals was the domain of professionals.
Akutis knew that every day he spent hours in prayer before communion.
He fell ill with acute leukemia in October 2006, at the age of 15, and died within a few days. He was buried in Assisi, a city known for its connection with another popular saint, Saint Francis.
Since his death, young Catholics have been coming in large numbers to Assisi, where the body of Acutis can be seen through the glass on the tomb.
Frasati, the second saint canonized today, lived from 1901 to 1925, when he died of polio. He is known for serving the poor and spreading the faith among his friends.
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