God's influencer: Carlo Acutis to become first millennial saint

The Vatican announced last week that an Italian teenager is set to become the first millennial saint after Pope Francis attributed him a second miracle. 

Carlo Acutis died from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. Nicknamed “God's Influencer” for his commitment to spreading Catholic teachings online, Acutis would be the first person from the millennial generation to become a saint. 

Acutis achieved the first step to sainthood — known as beatification — in 2020 after The Pope attributed Acutis’ first miracle to him, which involved healing a Brazilian child suffering from a congenital disease affecting his pancreas. 

Last week, Pope Francis attributed a second miracle to Acutis. In that miracle, Acutis is credited with healing a university student from Costa Rica who had a brain bleed after undergoing head trauma from falling off her bicycle. 

The attribution of a second miracle clears the path to sainthood for Acutis. The Vatican has not yet announced a date for Acutis’ canonization, which would formally elevate him to saint status, according to the Catholic News Agency. 

'It was no surprise'

"I was happy, but I expected it because I knew Carlo was sainted. For me, it was not a surprise,” Acutis’ mother told Sky News in response to the news of his sainthood. 

Miracles usually undergo a thorough investigation and evaluation process that spans several months. After having two confirmed miracles, an individual becomes eligible for sainthood. Miracles typically achieve something beyond what is naturally possible, such as healing someone with a terminal illness, Catholic World Mission explained. 

Born in London in 1991, Acutis was passionate about Catholicism from a young age. He used technology to spread the teachings of the Catholic Church and designed and managed websites for his parish and school. 

Later, Acutis created a website documenting every known reported Eucharist miracle, which generated thousands of views and has since been translated into multiple languages. 

"For him, it was important to speak about these miracles because Jesus performed Eucharistic miracles,” Acutis’ mother told Sky News. 

He died in Monza, Italy, and his body was moved to Assisi a year later, where he is on full display, to honor his wish to be buried in the city of St. Francis. 

Aside from Acutis, The Pope also advanced sainthood cases for six men and one woman in the Vatican’s announcement last week.