The 1st millennium of the Catholic Church was a teenager who loved video games and computers

The Catholic church has just shown a saint born in the 90s, wore sneakers, played video games and used computer programming languages ​​to spread the gospel.

Carlo Acutis – Died in 2006 leukemia at the age of 15 – officially became the first holy millennium of the church during a Vatican ceremony on Sunday.

The Italian media have nicknamed the Italian British adolescent “the influencer of God” because of the way he used the internet to advance his faith, but it is only one of his many nicknames.

“We nicknamed it the patron saint of the Internet,” said Reverend Ed Howe of the parish of Carlo Acutis in Chicago In this case Nile Kӧksal host.

“The Vatican calls him the Apostle of the Eucharist and the Patron of Young people, and some people call him the patron saint of computer programmers.”

80,000 attend canonization

Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, canonized Acutis during an outdoor mass on the Saint-Pierre square on Sunday, making him an officially recognized Catholic saint alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian who was known to help those who needed it and died of polio in the 1920s.

In the Catholic faith, a saint is someone who has lived a virtuous, holy and heroic life and would have risen to heaven.

It is estimated that 80,000 people gathered for the ceremony, including young Catholics around the world, and couples of the millennium with children.

Antonio d’Averio, 24, who was at the ceremony, described the canonization of “a hand that serves the church towards us young people”.

From Averio, himself a computer programmer, said that he had identified in Acutis.

“He too was passionate about IT,” said the young man. “For a saint, this is certainly something new. It is also something that, in my opinion, was necessary.”

Clara Marout Martin, 20, traveled from Spain for the event.

“We are very happy to be here because Carlo and Pier Giorgio are two examples of young people full of God, full of grace, and we want to follow their steps,” she said.

Who was Carlo Acutized?

Acutis was born on May 3, 1991 in London, England, and grew up in Milan, Italy. He is not the youngest saint, but is the first in the millennial generation, almost defined as those born between the early 1980s and the late 90s.

As a child, he was particularly interested in computer science and was known to read college -level books on programming.

He put these skills to use the construction and maintenance of a multilingual website documenting Eucharistic miracles recognized by the church. At the time, the creation of websites was still largely the field of professional programmers.

“He wanted to use modern technology to advance the gospel,” said Howe.

He was also known for his intense devotion, attending the church every day and regularly praying in the presence of the Eucharist, a holy sacrament of wine and bread believing to become the blood and the body of Christ.

Acutis died in October 2006 just a few days after receiving a diagnosis of acute leukemia. In the years that followed, young Catholics have flocked by millions of people to his place of rest in Assisi, Italy, where they can see the young saint through a tomb next to glass, dressed in jeans, Nike sneakers and a sweatshirt.

“He dressed like young people today, and you know, he played video games, he had dogs and cats,” said Howe. “Many young people can relate to all this, then see in all of this how he was devoted to Christ and how he wanted to live his life as a faithful disciple.”

Celebrations in Canada and in the world

The excitement about Saint Acutis has spread far beyond Rome.

At the parish of Howe in Chicago – the first, and currently only an American church named for Acutis – young worshipers spent the whole week celebrating the “Carlo Fest”.

They launched a rally of pep for the young namesake of their church, held a special mass in his honor and spent time learning acutis and her inheritance.

At Cardinal Carter High School in Leamington, Ontario, the students abandoned their best Sunday this weekend and rather displayed jeans and sneakers to honor Acutis.

Jerry Leroux, Minister of the School, says that the excitement among students about canonization has been palpable.

“Just the simple fact that he was on earth while the current teenagers of our school were on earth, I think it makes him relatable, for sure,” Leroux at CBC Radio Windsor’s morning.

He says that students like that acute had a lot of the same hobbies as they do, like playing football and spending time with friends.

“He did all these normal things that a teenager would do, but he also found time to go to church every day, spent time in front of the Eucharist every day and received communion every day. He had such devotion and love for Christ and the sacrament he had a priority,” said Leroux.

“This gives an example to our adolescents today that they do not have to be cloister in a church, praying, like,, 24/7. God wants us to have a life full of joy, but also a life full of faith too.”

Acutis died less than two decades ago and moved quickly along the way to holiness, a process that can sometimes take hundreds of years.

Howe thinks that the canonization of the young saint progressed quickly because the predecessor of Pope Leo, Francis, prioritized the connection with young worshipers and also honoring the holiness of ordinary people.

“The saints through the history of the Church have often not been world figures. They were people who have made a difference in their communities, in their cities, in their neighborhood, and other people found them as angels or the saint next door,” said Howe.

“They are the right neighbor. They are the person who does everything possible to help others. These are people who are dedicated in their faith. And Carlo Acutis, as a young person, was that person for others.”

Interview with the Reverend Ed Howe produced by Livia Dyring. With Reuters files, the Associated Press and CBC Windsor