AN ITALIAN tech-savvy teen is on his path to becoming the first millennial saint after his cause of canonization was approved by Pope Francis and the Consistory of Cardinals on July 1st.

Carlo Acutis died at 15 years old after battling leukemia, but he was known for using his technical skills to bring awareness to the Catholic faith.

Earning the title of “God’s influencer,” the teen is most likely to be proclaimed as a saint at the 2025 Jubilee.

Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London and grew up playing video games such as “Pokémon,” “Halo,” and “Super Mario.” In modesty, he would limit himself to one hour of gaming each week as he knew the “dangers of the Internet.”

Profoundly, the teen was remembered for his contribution to the Church after creating a website that recorded miracles across the globe. In his free time, the boy also enjoyed playing soccer, and the saxophone, and loved animals.

Considering becoming a priest, he would attend Church every day. At the age of 7, he asked to receive his first communion.

Acutis’ parents would describe him as pious while the Vatican detailed him as “welcoming and caring towards the poorest, and he helped the homeless, the needy, and immigrants with the money he saved from his weekly allowance.”

His mother, Antonia Solzano, would recall the young Carlo using his first savings to buy a sleeping bag for a homeless man he often crossed paths with at Mass.

Two miracles

Before his beatification in 2020, Acutis was related to two miracles, which is the Church’s requirement for sainthood.

A Brazilian boy with a deadly pancreatic disease was healed after his mother prayed to a relic of Acutis to plead for help for her son.

To be declared as “blessed,” Acutis was reported to be attributed another miracle in Costa Rica.

The mother of a girl who suffered from severe head trauma after a bicycle accident prayed at Acutis’ tomb in Assisi. A few days later, the daughter’s hemorrhage disappeared.

With reports from Regine Dayao