Pope Leo canonizes 'God's influencer,' the Catholic Church's first millennial saint

Pope Leo XIV declared 15-year-old Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint at an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands of people in the Vatican’s St.

Pope Leo XIV declared 15-year-old Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint at an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands of people in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.

Informally known as “God’s influencer,” Acutis was just 15 when he died of acute promyelocytic leukemia in Milan in 2006 and has two miracles attributed to him by the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said 36 cardinals, 270 bishops and hundreds of priests had signed up to celebrate the Mass, where Leo also canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati, another popular Italian who died young.

Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful holding a picture of Carlo Acutis.Andrew Medichini / APAcutis was born in London, where his father, Andrea Acutis, 61, was working as a banker, but the family moved back to Milan when he was young.

Using the family’s small, old computer, Acutis taught himself how to program, and built a website cataloging more than 100 Eucharistic miracles around the world that had been recognized by the church over many centuries.