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The announcement was made at an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday by Pope Francis, according to the Associated Press.
### Why It Matters
The fast-tracked canonization of Acutis is seen as a contemporary model of holiness since he combined ordinary teenage life with disciplined Catholic devotion and technology to promote Eucharistic devotion.
Acutis’ canonization marks a deliberate Vatican effort to present relatable holy figures who can speak to younger generations about faith in the digital age.
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### Who Was Carlo Acutis?
Born on May 3, 1991, in London and raised in Milan, Acutis died of acute leukemia at age 15 in October 2006.
– He taught himself programming as a child and created websites for Catholic causes, notably an online catalog of claimed Eucharistic miracles.
– His tomb in Assisi has become a major pilgrimage site, with his body displayed in a wax replica and dressed casually.
– Relics associated with him have toured internationally.
### Additional Canonization
During the same Mass, Pope Francis also canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Born in 1901 into a prominent family in Turin, he died of polio at age 24. He is remembered for his dedication to helping the poor and sharing his Catholic faith with friends.
### What People Are Saying
– Pope Francis said: “The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan.” He added that new saints are an invitation not to squander our lives but to direct them upwards, making them masterpieces.
– Matthew Schmalz, a professor at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, stated: “He becomes an emblem of how Catholics should approach and use the digital world—with discipline and focus on traditional Catholic spirituality that defies time. He is a new saint of simplicity for the ever-complex digital landscape of contemporary Catholicism.”
### What Happens Next?
With his canonization:
– Acutis may be named a patron for youth and digital evangelization initiatives.
– Churches and schools can be dedicated to him.
– His relics will continue to travel, boosting pilgrimages and devotion among young Catholics worldwide.
*Pilgrims arrive with flags bearing portraits of Carlo Acutis for the canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square.*
