Pope Leo XIV canonised Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old computer programmer who died in 2006, as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square attended by an estimated 80,000 people.
Acutis, known as “God’s influencer,” was celebrated alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati in the first saint-making ceremony of Leo XIV’s pontificate. The pope described both men as having created “masterpieces” by dedicating their lives to God.
Born in London in 1991 to a wealthy but not particularly observant Catholic family, Acutis moved to Milan as an infant and developed intense religious devotion alongside his passion for computer science. He created a multilingual website documenting Eucharistic miracles recognised by the church, completing the project when such technical work typically required professional developers.
The teenager limited himself to one hour of video games weekly, apparently deciding before the advent of TikTok that human relationships outweighed virtual connections. This digital discipline has appealed to Catholic hierarchy concerned about technology’s impact on spiritual development.
Acutis died of acute leukaemia in October 2006 within days of diagnosis. His preserved remains lie in a glass tomb in Assisi, where millions of young Catholics have made pilgrimages to see him dressed in jeans, Nike trainers, and a sweatshirt.
The canonisation had been scheduled earlier this year but was postponed following Pope Francis’s death in April. Francis had championed Acutis’s sainthood case, believing the church needed such a figure to attract young Catholics whilst addressing digital age challenges.
Matthew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross College, described Acutis as extending popular piety traditions into the digital era. “He becomes an emblem or model of how Catholics should approach and use the digital world, with discipline and with a focus on traditional Catholic spirituality,” Schmalz said.
The Vatican’s promotion of Acutis reflects strategic efforts to provide young Catholics with a relatable “saint next door” who achieved extraordinary things through ordinary circumstances. His millennial status, born between 1981 and 1996, makes him the first saint from the generation that reached adulthood in the new millennium.
However, questions persist about the preservation of Acutis’s body, particularly as portions of his heart have toured globally as relics. The Vatican has not provided scientific explanations for the preservation, though such phenomena occasionally occur naturally.
The ceremony drew 36 cardinals, 270 bishops, and hundreds of priests, demonstrating both hierarchical and popular appeal. Many attendees were young Italian families with children, suggesting the strategy of creating generational connection may be succeeding.
Leo Kowalsky, an eighth-grade student at Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish in Chicago, expressed excitement about the canonisation. “It’s like I can maybe not be as great as Carlo may be, but I can be looking after him and be like, ‘What would Carlo do?'” he said.
The Vatican’s emphasis on Acutis’s technological skills addresses contemporary challenges facing religious institutions in digital environments. His example suggests ways to integrate modern communication tools with traditional spiritual practices.
For the Catholic Church, Acutis’s canonisation represents an attempt to demonstrate relevance to younger generations whilst maintaining traditional theological foundations. Whether this approach effectively attracts millennials and Generation Z to Catholicism remains to be determined through longer-term engagement metrics.
