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Pope Francis said the beatification of a computer wunderkind was a sign to young people that “true happiness comes from putting God first.”
Carlo Acutis, who is on the road to sainthood after being beatified in the Umbrian city of Assisi, helped spread Roman Catholic teaching online before his death from leukemia at age 15 in 2006. He is the youngest contemporary person in be beatified.
Francis called for applause for the “newly beatified millennial” during his Angelus on Sunday. “His testimony shows the youth of today that true happiness is found by putting God first and serving people, especially among the poorest in society.”
Acutis was born in London before moving to Milan with his Italian parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, as a child. He began to show signs of deep religious devotion in his early childhood. Salzano told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that from the age of three he would ask to visit the churches they passed through in Milan. He would also donate his pocket money to the poor of the city.
Acutis learned to code himself while still in elementary school, before using his skills to create websites for Catholic organizations, as well as one that listed miracles.
Acutis was put on the path to sainthood after Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to him: A seven-year-old boy from Brazil recovered from a rare pancreatic disorder after coming into contact with one of Acutis’s shirts. A priest had also prayed to Acutis on the boy’s behalf.
Salzano told Corriere that she was sure her son was a saint when he was alive. “He cured a woman of cancer by praying to the Virgin of Pompeii,” he said. A second approved miracle is required before sainthood is declared, although Pope Francis has on rare occasions waived that.
Acutis died on October 12, 2006 and asked to be buried in Assisi, where he was beatified on Saturday. The teenager admired Saint Francis of Assisi for his dedication to helping the poor, and he sought to replicate that in his life.
The pilgrims gathered in Assisi for the beatification mass, most watching on a big screen outside the Basilica of San Francisco due to Covid-19 security restrictions.
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, papal legate of the basilicas of Saint Francis and Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi, said during his homily that Acutis was a “normal and friendly adolescent” who used the Internet “in the service of the gospel, to reach so many people as possible “.
“The Internet was not only a means of escape, but a space for dialogue, knowledge, exchange and mutual respect that should be used responsibly, without becoming slaves to it and [while] rejecting digital harassment, “he added.
In 2019, Pope Francis paid tribute to Acutis, saying that his use of the internet to “communicate values and beauty” was the ideal way to counter the negative effects of social media.
