Pope to canonize teen programmer, dubbed first millennial saint

The Roman Catholic Church is expected to receive its first computer coding saint in late April, when Pope Francis formally canonizes Carlo Acutis during Rome’s Jubilee for Adolescents. Acutis gained global recognition for his website documenting Eucharistic miracles and sightings of the Virgin Mary. Acutis was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006 and died at the age of 15.. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi praised Acutis as a model of piety in the digital age who taught kids how to properly use the internet, according to the Little Flower Parish in Maryland.

How does a saint become canonized, according to the Catholic Church? Francis in 2020 initiated the beautification of Acutis’ body in a glass tomb at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Thousands of visitors have since honored the Italian teen and visited his corpse, which is clad in jeans and Nike sneakers. In order to be declared a saint, church leaders must verify the subject lived a faithful life and credit two miracles to them. Catholics say Acutis’ first miracle happened in 2013 when a child with a pancreatic issue was healed after praying to the teen. The second miracle identified by the Catholic church came in 2022 when a teen came out of a coma after his mother prayed at Acutis’ tomb. Many expect Acutis to become the next patron saint of the internet after St. Isidore of Seville, named the patron saint of the internet by Pope John Paul II in 1997.