Carlo Acutis was canonized on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, becoming the first person of the millennial generation formally recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. The ceremony, celebrated by Pope Leo, elevated Acutis alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati in a rite that drew pilgrims, clergy and media attention to two young laymen remembered for their devotion and service.
A London-born Italian who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, Acutis used early web skills to compile and publish accounts of Eucharistic miracles and other reported wonders, efforts that supporters said helped make faith more accessible to younger Catholics. He has been widely described as a relatable, modern example of sanctity and was nicknamed “God’s influencer” for his use of technology to spread Catholic teaching.
A surge of devotion has followed Acutis’ beatification and canonization announcements. More than a million people were estimated to have made pilgrimages to Assisi, the hilltop town where his body lies preserved in wax, and churches connected to his life have reported increased visits. The font at Our Lady of Dolours Church in Chelsea, London, where Acutis was baptized in 1991, has become a local shrine; a converted confession booth there holds a relic that devotees say contains a single strand of his hair, BBC reporting said.
In the United States, Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish and school on Chicago’s Northwest Side — the first U.S. parish named for him — has centered lessons and worship on his life, with students reading comic-book biographies and drawing imagined cellphone wallpapers for the teen they study. “He’s not a world figure like Mother Teresa or St. John Paul II, but rather a ‘saint next door,’” said the Rev. Ed Howe, pastor at the Chicago parish.
Acutis’ path to sainthood was followed closely by Vatican media and Catholic broadcasters. The joint canonization was to be shown on channels such as Eternal Word Television Network and Vatican News; BBC and other outlets reported the rite had originally been scheduled for late April but was postponed, the BBC said, following the death of Pope Francis.
Supporters point to Acutis’ online cataloguing of miracles as a distinctive element of his ministry. Beginning in his early teens, he created websites that documented reported Eucharistic miracles and offered lay-friendly material on Catholic belief. Advocates say his work and demeanor helped inspire a surge of interest among young Catholics seeking contemporary models of holiness.
Family members and friends remember Acutis as a typical modern boy in many ways. He enjoyed soccer and television shows such as The Simpsons, according to accounts by relatives and articles in international press, but also took daily Mass and prayer seriously. His death at 15 from leukemia turned his brief life into a focal point for devotion among those who saw in him a bridge between faith and modern culture.
Clergy highlighted different aspects of the two men canonized alongside one another. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925 at 24, is remembered for social-justice activism and a love of the outdoors; Acutis is cited as a model for Catholics navigating digital life. Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said in comments reported by U.S. media that the pair offered fitting examples for modern believers — Frassati for his charitable engagement and Acutis for his witness within contemporary culture.
The Vatican’s promotion of Acutis as a candidate for sainthood drew particular notice because it appeared to reflect a deliberate effort to present a modern, media-savvy example to younger faithful. Church officials and parish leaders said that emphasis on a youthful, lay figure who used technology to promote devotion has helped fuel international interest in his story.
Canonizations are final declarations by the pope that a person lived a life of heroic virtue and is worthy of universal veneration. The recognition allows Catholics worldwide to publicly invoke the saint and to promote his or her example in liturgy and catechesis.
In the days after the canonization, sites connected to Acutis’ life and legacy were expected to receive more visitors, and Catholic educators and youth ministers said they anticipated renewed engagement from young people drawn to a figure who combined ordinary teenage interests with intense spiritual practice. Church leaders said they hoped the formal recognition would encourage fresh conversations about faith, technology and daily witness in the 21st century.