It is not every day you see a teenager in a tracksuit and Nike sneakers being discussed in the same breath as ancient martyrs and mystics. But here we are. Pope Francis has officially set the stage for a moment that feels like a glitch in the traditional matrix of the Vatican: the canonization of Carlo Acutis.
Honestly, the image is jarring. You have the 89-year-old Pontiff, a man who famously doesn't use a computer, elevating a kid who spent his weekends coding and playing Halo. It’s a collision of worlds. This isn't just about a "holy kid." It is about the Catholic Church desperately trying to prove it still speaks the language of the 21st century.
Why Pope Francis and Carlo Acutis Are a Big Deal Right Now
If you've been following the news, you know that the "Cyber-Apostle" is finally becoming a saint. Pope Francis announced that the big day will happen during the Jubilee of Adolescents in 2025. Specifically, the canonization is set for April 27, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square.
It’s a massive logistical headache for Rome, but a symbolic goldmine for the Pope.
Think about it. Most saints lived hundreds of years ago. Their stories are filtered through oil paintings and Latin hymns. Carlo? There are YouTube videos of him. There are photos of him eating Nutella and hanging out with his dogs. He’s the first person to enter the hall of saints with a LinkedIn-ready skill set.
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Francis has been leaning into this hard. He sees in Carlo a solution to a problem that has plagued his papacy: how do you keep Gen Z from walking out the door? By canonizing a "computer geek," the Pope is basically saying that the internet isn't just a place for doom-scrolling—it's a place for the divine.
The Two Miracles That Sealed the Deal
You can’t just become a saint because you’re a "good kid" who knows Java. The Vatican’s process is notoriously rigid. To get the green light from Pope Francis, Carlo needed two scientifically "inexplicable" miracles.
- The Pancreas Incident (2013): A young Brazilian boy named Mattheus was born with a deformed pancreas. He couldn't eat solid food. He was wasting away. His mother prayed a novena to Carlo and had the boy touch a relic. Suddenly, the kid asks for a steak. Doctors do an ultrasound, and the pancreas is perfectly shaped. No surgery. No explanation.
- The Bicycle Accident (2022): This is the one that triggered the 2025 canonization. A girl named Valeria fell off her bike in Florence. She had severe brain trauma—doctors gave her a slim chance of survival. Her mother went to Carlo’s tomb in Assisi and literally spent the day praying there. That same day, Valeria started breathing on her own. Ten days later, the hemorrhage was just... gone.
When these files hit the desk of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, they weren't just looking for "vibes." They brought in independent medical boards. When those doctors—many of whom aren't even Catholic—shrugged and said, "We have no idea how this happened," that's when the Pope signed the decree.
The "God's Influencer" Misconception
People love to call Carlo "God's Influencer." It's a catchy headline. But if you actually look at his life, he wasn't trying to go viral. He was kinda the opposite of a modern influencer.
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He didn't take selfies to show off. He used his tech skills to build a massive Eucharistic Miracles website. He spent two years cataloging 136 different events where the Church claims the bread and wine literally turned into human tissue. He wanted to use the "ones and zeros" of the digital world to point back to something physical and ancient.
Pope Francis has quoted Carlo’s most famous line several times: "All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies." It’s a brutal critique of social media culture coming from a kid who died before Instagram even existed. Carlo saw the "slavery" of consumerism and the way the internet makes everyone act the same. For Francis, this is the core of the message. He’s using Carlo to tell young people to stop being "photocopies" of influencers and start being "originals."
A Saint in a Tracksuit?
When you go to Assisi today, you can actually see Carlo. He’s lying in a glass tomb in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. He isn't wearing liturgical robes. He’s in a red Nike sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers.
Some traditionalists find it weird. They want their saints in habits or armor. But Francis loves the sweatshirt. It demystifies holiness. It says that you don't have to live in a monastery to be "heroically virtuous." You can be a 15-year-old who likes Pokémon and still be a saint.
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The Timeline to Sainthood
It’s been a fast track. Usually, this takes decades, if not centuries.
- 2006: Carlo dies of fulminant leukemia in Monza, Italy. He offered his pain for "the Pope and the Church."
- 2013: The cause for his sainthood officially opens.
- 2018: Pope Francis declares him "Venerable."
- 2020: Beatification in Assisi. He becomes "Blessed Carlo Acutis."
- May 2024: Pope Francis approves the second miracle.
- April 27, 2025: The scheduled date for full canonization.
What This Means for You
Whether you're religious or just a casual observer of history, this matters because it's a shift in how the world's oldest institution views "the digital."
Pope Francis is making a gamble. He’s betting that a millennial saint can bridge the gap between a 2,000-year-old tradition and a world of AI and TikTok. It's a "digital-first" approach to faith.
If you want to follow in the "Carlo style," here’s the blueprint:
- Audit your screen time: Carlo famously limited his video gaming to one hour a week because he didn't want the "machine" to own him.
- Use your skills for something bigger: He didn't just play games; he coded for the Church. If you’re a designer, a writer, or a coder, think about how those "secular" skills can serve a community.
- Check out the site: The website Carlo built is still live at miracolieucaristici.org. It looks like it was built in 2004 (because it was), but it's a fascinating look into the mind of a kid who saw the internet as a mission field.
The 2025 Jubilee is going to be a madhouse in Rome. Millions of teenagers are expected to descend on the city. They aren't going to see the Pope; they're going to see the kid in the Nikes. For the first time in a long time, the Catholic Church has a hero who looks exactly like the people in the pews.
Stay updated on the Vatican's official schedule for the April 2025 Jubilee of Adolescents, as travel to Rome will require a "Pilgrim's Prayer" registration through the official Jubilee app. If you're planning a trip to Assisi to see his tomb, book well in advance—the town is already seeing record-breaking crowds ahead of the canonization.