Italian teenage computer wizard poised to become the first saint of the Millennial generation

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first millennial saint on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer genius who died of leukemia in 2006.

Carlo Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London, and who later moved with his Italian parents to Milan as a child, was the youngest contemporary to be beatified by Francis in Assisi in 2020.

The approval of a second miracle for Acutis was notified by the Pontiff on Thursday during a meeting with the head of the Vatican’s department of saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, a Vatican statement said.

Pope Francis announced that he will convene a Consistory of Cardinals to deliberate on the canonization of Acutis, as well as three other Blesseds.

Considered the “patron saint of the Internet,” Acutis used his natural talent in technology to create a website to catalog miracles and curated websites for some local Catholic organizations.

He was an entrepreneur. While still in elementary school, Acutis taught himself to program using a university computer science textbook and later learned to edit videos and create animations.

Acutis, who died of acute leukemia on October 12, 2006, was set on the path to sainthood after Pope Francis approved the first miracle attributed to him: the healing of a 7-year-old Brazilian boy from a rare pancreatic disease after coming into in contact with a relic of Acutis, a piece of one of his t-shirts.

According to Vatican News, the second miracle recognized on Thursday is related to a woman from Costa Rica, who in July 2022 made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Acutis in Assisi to pray for the healing of her daughter, who had suffered severe traumatic brain injury. after falling from his bicycle.

The young woman began to show signs of recovery immediately after her mother’s appeal.

As a child, Acutis demonstrated a strong religious devotion that surprised his non-practicing parents.

His mother, Antonia Salzano, recalled in an interview that from the age of 3 he asked to visit the churches they passed in Milan, and at the age of 7 he already asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, gaining an exception to the usual age requirement.

His curiosity led Salzano to study theology to answer his questions, renewing his own faith.

Acutis was buried in Assisi at his request, having become an admirer of Saint Francis of Assisi for his dedication to the poor.

The Umbrian city was one of his favorite travel destinations. His body, dressed in a tracksuit and sneakers, is exposed for veneration in a sanctuary in the city, and his heart is exposed in a reliquary in the Basilica of Saint Francis.