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VATICAN CITY – A British-born Italian teenager who dedicated his short life to spreading the faith online and helping the poor was to be beatified by the Catholic Church on Saturday.
That leaves him just one miracle away from becoming the world’s first millennial saint.
Carlo Acutis, a young man crazy about the Internet and computers, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was put on the path to holiness after the Vatican ruled that he had miraculously saved the life of another child. The Vatican claims it interceded from heaven in 2013 to heal a Brazilian boy who suffered from a rare pancreatic disease.
He would be beatified in Assisi, the home of his idol Saint Francis, who dedicated his life to the poor.
‘ZEAL FOR THE LORD’ Carlo Acutis, 15, who died of leukemia in 2006, dedicated his short life to humanitarian work and spreading the faith. The photo on the right shows the remains of the Italian teenager in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in the city of Assisi, the home of his idol Saint Francis. —SCREENGRAB DE CARLOACUTIS.COM/PHOTO DE DIOCESE OF ASSISI-NOCERA UMBA-GUALDO TADINO
‘Computer genius’
Acutis, nicknamed “the cyber-apostle of the Eucharist,” was born in London to Italian parents and moved to Milan with them as a child.
“He was considered a computer genius…. But what did he do? He did not use these means to chat, have fun, “said his mother, Antonia Salzano, in an interview with Vatican News.
Instead, “his zeal for the Lord” led him to create a website about miracles, he said.
The millennial, whose body lies in state in Assisi, dressed in a tracksuit and slippers, also warned his contemporaries that the internet could be a curse as well as a blessing.
Pope Francis referred to him last year, warning young people that social media could fuel hatred.
“(Acutis) saw that a lot of young people, wanting to be different, really end up being like everyone else, running after whatever the powerful put in front of them with the mechanisms of consumerism and distraction,” Francis said.
“As a result, Carlo said, ‘everyone is born original, but many people end up dying as photocopies.’ Don’t let that happen to you! “said the Pope.
Kind to the poor
Acutis was religious from an early age, even though his mother said his family rarely attended church.
When he didn’t write computer programs or play soccer, he was known in his neighborhood for his kindness to those who lived on the fringes of society.
“With her savings, she bought sleeping bags for the homeless and at night she brought them hot drinks,” her mother said, as quoted by the Catholic News Agency.
“He said it was better to have one less pair of shoes if it meant being able to do a good job more,” he said.
Soup kitchen
He also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Milan. The bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, said a soup kitchen for the poor would be opened this month in honor of Acutis.
“When he died, at the funeral, the church was full of poor people. Everyone else wondered what they were doing there. Well, Carlo used to help them secretly, ”said Nicola Gori, who represented the Acutis beatification case.
“The family knew it, because his mother would accompany him, since he was only 15 years old. He gave them sleeping bags and food, that’s why they wanted to attend the funeral, “he added.
If Acutis is later credited with the second miracle necessary for sainthood, supporters have suggested that he could become the patron saint of the Internet, although one already exists, the 7th-century scholar Isidore of Seville.
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