VATICAN CITY: An Italian teenager known as God’s Influencer will become the first millennial saint during a canonisation ceremony at the Vatican this Sunday.
Carlo Acutis, who passed away from leukaemia in 2006 at age 15, earned his nickname through his online efforts to spread Catholic teachings.
Pope Leo XIV will officiate the solemn ceremony in St Peter’s Square, which thousands of pilgrims are expected to attend.
Acutis’s body currently rests in a glass-walled tomb in Assisi, dressed in jeans and Nike trainers, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
The canonisation was originally scheduled for April but had to be postponed following the death of Pope Francis.
Faithful followers in Assisi will watch the event on giant screens in the medieval pilgrimage city located in Umbria.
Born in London in 1991, Acutis developed a strong faith despite his parents not being particularly devout.
He grew up in Milan, where he attended mass daily and gained a reputation for helping bullied children and homeless people by providing food and sleeping bags.
The computer enthusiast taught himself coding and used his skills to create online content documenting miracles and aspects of Catholic belief.
The Vatican has officially recognised two miracles attributed to Acutis since his death, which is a mandatory requirement for sainthood.
The first miracle involved the healing of a Brazilian child with a rare pancreatic condition, while the second concerned the recovery of a Costa Rican student who suffered serious injuries in an accident.
Both cases involved families praying to Acutis for intercession, leading to his beatification by Pope Francis in 2020.
More than 800 people will travel from Assisi to Rome on a special train for the canonisation of what many call the cyber-apostle.
The ceremony begins at 10:00 am local time (0800 GMT) and represents Pope Leo XIV’s first canonisation since his election in May. The event occurs during the Catholic Holy Year, which has already brought over 24 million visitors to Rome according to Vatican estimates.
Italian mountaineering enthusiast Pier Giorgio Frassati will also be canonised during the same ceremony on Sunday. Frassati, who died of polio in 1925 at age 24, was known for his social work helping the poor and sick in his community.
His casket bears the inscription “Verso l’alto” meaning “To the heights”, reflecting his mountaineering passion and spiritual aspirations.
The Vatican recognised Frassati’s second miracle in 2024, involving the unexplained healing of a young American man in a coma.
He was beatified by John Paul II in 1990 and has been held up by the Church as a model of charity since his death.
Canonisation requires a meticulous process involving Vatican investigations and specialist assessments of miracles, with final approval resting with the pope. – AFP