In front of thousands of young people, Pope declares ‘God’s influencer’ first millennial saint

A teenager who died of leukemia in 2006 becomes the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation in a Vatican ceremony led by Pope Leo and attended by thousands of young worshippers from dozens of countries.

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 US pontiff, canonizes Acutis along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian man who was known for helping those in need and who died of polio in the 1920s.

In impromptu remarks to crowds in St. Peter’s Square at the opening of the event, Leo says Acutis and Frassati were examples of holiness, and of helping those in need.

“All of you, all of us together, are called to be saints,” the pontiff tells the young crowd, which had spilled out of the square down the main boulevard into the Vatican from Rome.

Acutis’ canonization 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.

However, behind the celebration lies a troubling legacy: The very miracles Acutis has promoted online are rooted in centuries-old antisemitic myths that have fueled hatred and violence against Jewish communities.

Some leading Jews and Catholics have criticized Rome for overlooking the antisemitic motifs tied to some of these miracles.

Read more: First ‘millennial saint’ is about to be canonized for publicizing miracles with troubling past