VATICAN CITY (AP) — A 15-year-old computer whiz, Carlo Acutis, was declared the first millennial saint Sunday. Acutis, who died in 2006 after an acute case of leukemia, has been dubbed “God’s Influencer” because of his savvy use of information technology to spread the Catholic faith. It was Pope Leo XIV’s first canonization ceremony.
An ordinary life that became extraordinary
Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London to a wealthy, but not particularly observant Catholic family. His Italian parents, Antonia Salzano and Andrea Acutis, had moved to London from Italy in 1988 when his father was appointed corporate finance executive at financal firm Lazard Brothers & Co. Ltd.
The family moved back to Milan soon after young Carlo was born. Carlo’s mother said her son had a normal, happy childhood, albeit one that increasingly showed his religious fervor, thanks particularly to the influence of his Polish Catholic nanny.
“He had an ordinary life, like all of us. But an ordinary life that became extraordinary,” Salzano says.
A ‘Little Buddha’ who insists on daily prayer
Acutis was an obedient child who insisted on going to Mass daily as a youngster. His mother called him “Little Buddha” because of his calm, joyful demeanor.
He insisted on receiving First Communion, one of the main sacraments of the Catholic Church, at the young age of seven. He would pray before and after Mass bef …