DT
PT
Subscribe To Print Edition About The Tribune Code Of Ethics Download App Advertise with us Classifieds
search-icon-img
search-icon-img
Advertisement

Pope Leo XIV declares 15-year-old computer whiz who died in 2006 a saint

An estimated 70,000 young worshippers attend the ceremony in St. Peter's Square
  • fb
  • twitter
  • whatsapp
  • whatsapp
featured-img featured-img
Antonia Salzano, mother of Carlo Acutis (inset pic), walks as Pope Leo XIV leads a Holy Mass for his canonisation, in St. Peters Square at the Vatican on Sunday. Reuters
Advertisement

A teenager who died of leukaemia in 2006 became the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation on Sunday, in a Vatican ceremony led by Pope Leo and attended by an estimated 70,000 young worshippers from dozens of countries.

Advertisement

Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who died aged 15, learned computer code to build websites to spread his faith. His story has drawn wide attention from Catholic youth, and he is now at the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.

Leo, the first U.S. pontiff, canonized Acutis on Sunday along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian man who was known for helping those in need and died of polio in the 1920s. In impromptu remarks to crowds in St. Peter's Square at the opening of the event, Leo said Acutis and Frassati were examples of holiness, and of helping those in need.

Advertisement

"All of you, all of us together, are called to be saints," the pontiff told the young crowd, which had spilled out of the square down the main boulevard into the Vatican from Rome. "Carlo … loved to say that heaven has always been waiting for us, and that to love tomorrow is to give the best of ourselves today," Leo said in a later sermon. The two new saints, said the pope, "are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards (to heaven)”.

A tapestry depicting an image of Carlo Acutis hangs on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica, on the day Pope Leo XIV leads a Holy Mass for the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, in the Vatican, on September 7. REUTERS
People gather on the day Pope Leo XIV leads a Holy Mass for the canonisation of Carlo Acutis in Rome, Italy, on September 7. REUTERS
Women wearing shirts with picture of Carlo Acutis, in St. Peter's Square. REUTERS
A woman holds a figure depicting Carlo Acutis in St. Peter's Square. REUTERS

Acutis' canonisation had been hotly anticipated by many Catholic youths for months. It was originally set for April but was postponed after the death of Pope Francis. Sunday's event is the first time that Leo, elected pope by the world's cardinals in May, has presided over such a ceremony.

Advertisement

Being made a saint means the Church believes a person lived a holy life and is now in heaven with God. Other saints who died young include Therese of Lisieux, who died at 24 in 1897 and was known for promoting a "Little Way" of charity; and Aloysius Gonzaga who died at 23 in 1591 after caring for victims of an epidemic in Rome.

As Acutis progressed along the Church's official path to sainthood, his body was moved to a church in the hill town of Assisi in central Italy, where St. Francis was from, in line with Acutis' last wishes.

The new saint's final resting place, where Acutis is entombed with a wax mould of his likeness placed over his body, wearing his track top, jeans and trainers, has become a popular devotional site, attracting thousands of worshippers every day.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
tlbr_img1 Classifieds tlbr_img2 Videos tlbr_img3 Premium tlbr_img4 E-Paper tlbr_img5 Shorts