Teen known as ‘God’s influencer’ to become first millennial saint

The Vatican will celebrate an historic canonization on Sunday, Sept. 7, when Pope Leo will declare Blessed Carlo Acutis a saint.

According to USA Today, it will mark the first canonization of Pope Leo’s papacy and the first saint of the millennial generation, placing Carlo alongside revered figures such as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.

Carlo, a British-born Italian, passed away from leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. He had been scheduled to be canonized on April 27 during the Jubilee of Adolescents, but the ceremony was postponed following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Known by some as “God’s influencer,” Carlo was a tech-savvy teen who learned multiple computer coding languages and created websites to share his faith.

The Path to Sainthood Canonization is the Church’s recognition that a person is in heaven with God.

The process is overseen by a Vatican department, which examines the individual’s life for holiness, and typically requires confirmation of at least two miracles attributed to their intercession.

Miracles attributed to Carlo’s first recognized miracle occurred in 2020. It involved a 4-year-old boy in Brazil born with a serious pancreatic defect. After his mother prayed to Carlo in 2013, the child experienced a sudden and complete recovery.

A second miracle, announced in May 2024, involved a woman from Costa Rica. In 2022, she visited Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, Italy, praying for her daughter, who had suffered severe head trauma in a bicycle accident and was not expected to survive.

That same day, her daughter began breathing on her own. Within 24 hours, she regained some movement and speech, and 10 days later, a CAT scan showed the brain hemorrhage had disappeared.

Pope Leo XIV is greeted by Bishops in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, a day ahead of the canonization of Carlo Acutis who’s portrait is hanging at top right.(Associated Press)

More on Carol Acutis

Born in 1991, Carlo stood out for his joyful faith and compassion. He used his technical skills to evangelize, developing websites for his parish and the wider Catholic Church.

He was beatified in October 2020, when Pope Francis recognized him as having reached blessedness in heaven and granted him the title of “Blessed.”

According to NBC News, Carlo’s mother, Antonia Salzano, said her son’s appeal lies in his ordinary teenage life.

Salzano told the media outlet that, from a young age, Carlo taught himself computer programming and asked her to buy books usually reserved for trained engineers. “He had a special skill, probably something unbelievable. I couldn’t understand how it would be so. But he used what he had in the heart, the love of God, to maximize for spreading the faith,” she added.

Using the family’s modest, older computer, Carlo learned to code on his own and created a website documenting more than 100 Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Church over the centuries, according to published reports.

Although programming was his passion, Salzano told NBC News she believed that her son might have pursued the priesthood, as he had asked about a career in the Church. After receiving his First Communion at age 7, he regularly attended daily Mass and even taught catechism at his local parish.

“He wanted to help people to discover their faith, to discover God, the love of God. And all his life was spent for this. Even if he lived a normal life, like young boys of his age,” she added.

In October 2006, at just 15, Carlo fell ill and passed away within 10 days from acute promyelocytic leukemia.