Pope Leo XIV said on Friday that Carlo Acutis, a teenage computer aficionado dubbed “God’s influencer,” would be canonized on Sept. 7, making him the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.
The sainthood ceremony for Carlo, a London-born Italian who died in 2006 at age 15, was originally scheduled for April 27 but was suspended because of Pope Francis’ death six days earlier.
Described by those who knew him as exceptionally smart and internet savvy, with typical teenage interests, Carlo also had a deeply spiritual side. He attended church every day, set up a website listing miracles attributed to the eucharist and carried out countless acts of kindness, according to his biographers and the people who championed his cause for sainthood.
His brief but exemplary life struck a chord with the faithful, and since his 2020 beatification — the penultimate step toward sainthood — his tomb in Assisi has drawn multitudes of pilgims. Many are teenagers themselves, and the planned April 27 canonization date coincided with the Jubilee of Teenagers, one of dozens of events scheduled during the church’s 2025 Holy Year that is attracting millions of pilgrims to the Vatican.
Carlo’s path to sainthood has been meteoric. Whereas in past centuries it took an average of 262 years between death and canonization, in his case it has taken just 19 years from the time he died of leukemia to global veneration.
Since his beatification, chapels and schools have been dedicated him throughout the world.
“It’s quite amazing,” said the Rev. Anthony Figueirida, who wrote a book about the teenager, whom he described as “a sign of goodness” in a world filled with bad news.
Domenico Sorrentino, the archbishop of Assisi, who has enthusiastically promoted the cause for sainthood, has described Carlo as “a boy full for life” and of positive, if unfulfilled, intentions. The archbishop said in an interview in April that the teenager gave hope to younger generations who face “a future that is not so easy to envisage.”
During a meeting with cardinals on Friday morning, Leo also decreed that Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at 24 in Turin a century ago, would be canonized alongside Carlo. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the head of the Vatican’s saints department, described Frassati as a “wonderful model of Christian life.”
The ceremony is expected to take place in St. Peter’s Square.
Elisabetta Povoledo is a Times reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years.
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