Italian teenager will become the first saint of the millennium

Carlo Acutis's second posthumous miracle qualified this kind-hearted computer prodigy for sainthood .

An Italian teenager born in England, who devoted his short life to spreading his faith online and helping the poor, will become the world's first saint of the millennium, the Guardian reported on March 23. /5.

 He was beatified in 2020 and is currently recognized by the Pope for his second miracle. (Photo: Vatican).

Devoted to everyone

Carlo Acutis was a computer prodigy who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. On May 23, Pope Francis issued a decree recognizing Acutis's second posthumous miracle, helping this teenager to survive. conditions for canonization.

Acutis, the teenager known as the " Apostle of the Internet Eucharist", was born in London in 1991 before moving to Milan with his Italian parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, as a child.

Of the 912 people canonized by Pope Francis, the most recent date of birth was before 1926.

In an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper, Mr. Salzano shared that since he was three years old, his son has asked to go to churches in Milan and donate his pocket money to the poor in the city.

He said Acutis will also offer to support classmates whose parents are divorcing, protect disabled friends when they are bullied and give food and sleeping bags to the homeless in Milan.

Acutis taught himself to code while in elementary school, and used those skills to create websites for Catholic organizations, as well as a site documenting miracles around the world.

Carlo Acutis' mother, Antonia Acutis, said her son's life 'can be used to show how the Internet can be used for good, to spread good things' . (Photo: Acutis family).

Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi said: 'The Church in Assisi is celebrating the anniversary. I plan to go to Assisi tonight to give thanks to God during the Eucharistic celebration. But now I am with the believers in the temple praying and praising'.

Enough for 2 miracles

In Catholicism, believers can pray to deceased people they believe are in heaven to ask that person to speak to God on their behalf, such as praying for someone to be cured of an illness.

If the sick person in prayer recovers unexpectedly, it may be considered a miracle by the Vatican. If a deceased person has two such miracles and is recognized by the Pope, then this person is eligible to be canonized.

Acutis' path to sainthood began after the Vatican concluded that he had miraculously saved the life of another boy. The Catholic Church beatified Acutis on October 10, 2020.

Blessedness, also known as demi-saint, is the third step in the canonization process. The Vatican recognized his heavenly intervention in 2013 to treat a Brazilian boy with a rare pancreatic disease. A priest prayed to Acutis on behalf of the child. This boy, 7 years old, is said to have recovered from the disease after coming into contact with a piece of Acutis' t-shirt.

Regarding the second miracle, the Catholic church's specialized unit that examines the validity of miracles, known as the Medical Council of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, is investigating claims that a woman Costa Rica made a miraculous recovery from a bicycle accident in Florence in 2022.

Valeria Valverde, 21, had an emergency craniectomy to relieve pressure on her brain and her family were told she was in a critical condition.

Her mother went to pray for her daughter at the Acutis tomb in Assisi, Umbrian six days later.

That same day, Valverde began breathing without a ventilator and recovered the use of his upper limbs and speech, the church said.

She was released from intensive care 10 days later and scans showed the bruising on her brain had disappeared.