Carlo Acutis has previously been called the “saint of the internet” and has now been officially canonized – 18 years after his death. He will be the first 90-year-old and millennial to be canonized.
Carlo liked to play video games and “streamed” them on the Internet while using the platform to spread his Catholic faith as he was deeply Christian. Even as a child, he donated his weekly allowance to the poor in Milan.
Miracle and canonization
In order to become a saint, something must have happened that the Catholic Church considers a miracle, which in itself can prove that this person is a saint and then also be declared as one.
According to the Catholic Church, Carlo has performed a number of miracles. One on a Brazilian boy who was born with an annular pancreas, which made him unable to retain food that he ate. Doctors did not think the boy would survive due to malnutrition.
A friend of the family, who was a priest, read about Carlo on the Internet and gathered his congregation to pray to Carlos for the boy’s recovery. He did – for which the family thanked the prayers.
That’s how you become a saint
It is quite unusual for people from our time to become saints because of how long the process is, says Tobias Hägerland, senior lecturer in religious studies and theology at the University of Gothenburg. But there may be more “internet saints” in the future.
– We will probably see more of this type of saint who hangs out on the internet, plays computer games and whom we experience as completely ordinary people, he says.