A tech-savvy teen who died in 2006 has been named the first-ever millennial saint by Pope Leo XIV, who dubbed the late British-Italian internet star ‘God’s influencer.’
Carlo Acutis died at 15 years old, but his legacy lives on thanks to Pope Leo’s canonization of him as a saint nearly two decades after his death.
Growing up in the 90s and 2000s, Acutis developed an intense interest in video games and computers, even teaching himself how to program and create websites.
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He used this passion for technology to make web pages for his school and parish, most notably building a site that documented “Eucharistic miracles” and supposed apparitions of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Focolare MediaCarlo Acutis was 15 years old when he died in 2006. Now, nearly 20 years later, he has been canonized as the first millennial saint.
After turning 15, Acutis was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the body’s white blood cells. He died from this condition mere days after being diagnosed when his parents took him to the hospital for a sore throat.
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Teen gamer becomes ‘God’s first influencer’ & millennial saint
In the years since his death, Acutis has been revered by the Catholic community for using his early adoption of technology and the internet to catechize users about the faith — and in 2025, newly-appointed Pope Leo XIV officially canonized him as a saint.
“The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan,” Leo said in his September 7 address, saying that new saints “are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces.”
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Speaking to PBS, 27-year-old Roman citizen Leopoldo Antimi echoed the sentiments of other Italian Catholics regarding Acutis’ legacy.
“I learned from different people what his professors, his teachers said about his joy and the light he carried around him,” he told the outlet. “So for me personally as an Italian, even on social networks that are used so much, it is important to have him as an influencer.”
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This is the latest moment from Pope Leo XIV to go viral following his induction to the Papacy earlier in 2025, during which it was revealed he is related to Justin Bieber, Madonna, and even Angelina Jolie, on top of being the first American Pope to hold the office.
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