‘God’s Influencer’ Carlo Acutis Becomes Church’s First Millennial Saint

In a historic moment at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager widely known as “God’s Influencer” for using coding and the internet to spread Catholic teachings.

Acutis, who was born in London in 1991 and died of leukemia in 2006, has become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, drawing an estimated 80,000 people to St. Peter’s Square for the ceremony.

His preserved body rests in Assisi, strikingly modern in jeans and sneakers, a symbol of a new kind of sainthood that resonates deeply with young people.

At the canonization, which also elevated Italian mountaineer Pier Giorgio Frassati, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that both men’s short lives were masterpieces of faith, courage, and sacrifice.

Miracles attributed to Acutis—healing a Brazilian child with a rare illness and saving a Costa Rican student after a serious accident—were key to his path to sainthood, reinforcing his reputation as a global figure of hope and inspiration in the digital age.