God's Influencer: Pope Officially Declares Italian Teen Carlo Acutis a Saint

Pope Leo XIV officially proclaimed Italian teenager Carlo Acutis the Catholic Church's first millennial saint on Sept. 7 to applause from thousands of faithful gathered at the Vatican.

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VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo XIV officially proclaimed Italian teenager Carlo Acutis the Catholic Church's first millennial saint on Sept. 7 to applause from thousands of faithful gathered at the Vatican.

Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, has been dubbed "God's influencer" for his efforts to spread the Catholic faith online.

Pilgrims stretched across the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, many of them young people holding up flags from different countries or images of the so-called cyber apostle.

"Carlo Acutis is an example for me because he was able to combine his everyday life — school, football and his passion for IT and computers — with an unshakeable faith," said Filippo Bellaviti, 17.

He said the atmosphere on Sept. 7 was "beautiful."

"Seeing people from so many parts of the world, you can see the affection for Carlo for what he's done," he said.

Around 800 people arrived on a special train from Assisi, where Acutis' body, dressed in jeans and a pair of Nike trainers, lies in a glass-walled tomb.