Tens of thousands of pilgrims on the Vatican are expected on Sunday to canon the canonization of an Italian teenager called “God’s influencer” for his efforts to spread the Catholic faith online.
Carlo Acutis, who died of Leukemia in 2006, aged 15, will be made into the first millennium Saint of Pope Leo XIV in a solemn ceremony at St. Peters Square.
Teenager’s body, dressed in jeans and a pair of Nike coaches, is located in a glass-walled grave in Assisi, visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year.
The canonization of the so-called “cyber-apostle” was originally set for April, but exposed when Pope Francis died. It will be American-born Pope Leo’s first such ceremony.
Among the crowds expected in the Vatican for the fair, which begins at 1 p.m. 10:00 (0800 GMT), over 800 people traveling to Rome on a special train from Assisi.
The mass will also be monitored by faithful on giant screens in Assisi, a medieval town and pilgrimage site in the central region of Umbria.
“I know many will come, many will follow on TV – many came already in April 27. And I’m sure Carlo thank them,” said his mother, Antonia Salzano.
In a video released by Assisi Diocese of Saturday, she said her son was proof that “we’re all called to be holy … everyone is special”.
A large tapestry with a photograph of Saint-to-be hung on the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica prior to the ceremony.
‘Exemplary life’
Acutis, born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, had an avid belief, although his parents were not very pious.
He grew up in the northern city of Milan, where he participated in lots daily and had a reputation for kindness to bully children and homeless people, which brought the latter food and sleeping bags.
A fan of computer games, Acutis taught itself basic coding and used it to document miracles and other elements of the Catholic faith online.
Domenico Sorrentino, Bishop of Assisi, urged young people on Friday to follow Acutis’ example.
“Today, more than ever, we need positive examples, exemplary life stories that can help our young people avoid following condescending images, violent examples and fleeting moths that leave nothing,” he said in a statement.
The Vatican has recognized Acutis who performed two miracles since his death – a necessary step on the road to the saint.
The first was the healing of a Brazilian child who suffered from a rare pancreatic abrasive, the second recovery of a Costa Rica student seriously injured in an accident.
In both cases, relatives had asked for help from the teenager who was beaten by 2020 by Pope Francis.
