Pope Canonizes Carlo Acutis, Making Him Catholicism’s First Millennial Saint
VATICAN CITY — In a historic ceremony held in St. Peter’s Square on September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed Carlo Acutis, a London-born Italian teenager, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. The canonization marks the first time a member of the millennial generation has been elevated to sainthood.
Acutis, who passed away from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, has been popularly known as “God’s influencer” for his early use of technology to spread the Catholic faith. A passionate computer programmer, he created websites to document Eucharistic miracles—events in which the Communion bread is believed to have supernaturally transformed into Christ’s flesh.
His canonization follows the Vatican’s verification of two miracles attributed to his intercession. The first, the healing of a Brazilian child from a rare pancreatic disorder in 2013, led to his beatification in 2020. A second miracle, approved earlier this year, paved the way for his sainthood.
Positioning Acutis as a key role model for young Catholics growing up in the digital age, the Church aims to highlight the harmony between faith and modern technology. He is often compared to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, an early 20th-century Italian known for his athleticism and social activism, as a modern patron for youth.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims, including many young people, attended the Mass. In his homily, Pope Leo XIV praised Acutis for using his gifts “not for vanity, but for charity,” and encouraged the faithful to see the internet as a “mission territory” for good.
Carlo Acutis’s feast day will be celebrated each year on October 12th, the anniversary of his death.
