God’s Influencer: A Saint for the Digital Age
Abigale Giordano
Digital Editor
On Sunday, September 5, Pope Leo XIV canonized Blessed Carlo Acutis as the first millennial saint of the Catholic Church at La Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Nicknamed “God’s Influencer”, Acutis is now the patron Saint of the internet. Known for his simple attire—jeans, a tracksuit shirt, and Nike sneakers—and love for the Eucharist, Carlo shared his passion for the Catholic tradition via his website, Miracoli Eucaristici, an easy-to-navigate platform that lists all Eucharistic miracles by country and even features an interactive world map.
Carlo Acutis was born into a wealthy, relatively unobservant Italian family on May 3, 1991 in London. As a child, his family moved back to Milan and he lived a happy childhood, with his religious devotion increasing as he got older, according to the Associated Press. From a young age, it was evident Acutis was endowed with wisdom, as he displayed incredible talent in computer science and development, understanding and engaging with college-level programming books from childhood. According to the National Public Radio, Carlo’s mother, Antonia Salzano Acutis, nicknamed her son “Little Buddha” as he spoke his first words at 3 months old, and by 5 months, could speak. In testimony to his religious devotion, Carlo was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist every day. Interestingly enough, the Catholic Church has been trying to promote this Eucharistic devotion that Acutis partook in, as according to polls, many Catholics no longer believe in transubstantiation—that is, the belief that during the Eucharist, the bread and wine are miraculously transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ, according to the Elton B. Stephens Company. Despite his affinity for digital media, Acutis had the self-discipline to limit himself to only one hour of video games per week, as he decided faith and human relationships were much more important than virtual ones.
The Cable News Network emphasizes that Acutis’ path to sainthood was unusually swift. Typically, canonization is a long and expensive process, as it can take years of forensic examination of the candidate’s life, as well as a minimum of two miracles to occur. Evidence for these miracles is provided by Vatican-appointed teams of medical experts and theologians. In Acutis’ case, three miracles occurred: the first, for his mother, who was 39 at the time of his passing, and did not believe she could have more children. She claims that at the age of 43, her son appeared to her in a dream, telling her she’ll be a mother again; a month later, she became pregnant with twins, who are believed to be his present to his parents, according to NPR. CNN claims the Vatican recognizes other two miracles Carlo performed: the healing of a 4-year-old Brazilian boy with a serious pancreatic malformation, and the sudden recovery of a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman after a near-fatal bicycle accident. Vatican officials have confirmed both the mother of the young boy and the injured woman prayed to Acutis for help.
With the canonization of Carlo, it is important to remember the man who cleared the path for his canonization—Pope Francis. According to Vatican News, the progressive Pope Francis recognized a miracle which occurred on July 8th, 2022: a woman left a letter at Blessed Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, praying to the saint to heal her daughter who suffered from severe head trauma after falling off her bicycle. She required a craniotomy surgery and the removal of the right occipital bone to reduce pressure on her brain, and doctors told the woman her daughter had a low chance of survival. That same day, her daughter, Valeria, began to breathe spontaneously, and the next day, she miraculously began to partially regain speech. On July 18, a CAT scan proved that her hemorrhage had disappeared, and on August 11, Valeria was moved to rehabilitation therapy, and by September 2, 2022, Valeria made a pilgrimage with her mother to Assisi to pray to and thank the saint. In Pope Francis’ decree, he announced he would convene the Consistory of Cardinals to deliberate the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, which was approved. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops writes that the canonization of Carlo Acutis was supposed to take place on April 27, during the Jubilee of Teenagers, as Acutis was a teenager known for his devotion to the Eucharist, but was postponed until now due to Pope Francis’ passing.
Blessed Saint Carlo Acutis and Pope Francis, pray for us.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.
