“God’s Influencer” — Catholic Church Declares It’s First Millennial Saint

The Catholic Church is once again doing what the Catholic Church does best…focusing on anything possible except Jesus Christ, namely Mary and the Saints.

In this particular case, it’s the Saints.

And they just minted a new one!

Meet Carlo Acutis, who became known as “God’s Influencer” for all the great work he did online spreading the message of the Catholic Church.

Good on him!  Seems like a great kid.  While I disagree with some of the behavior of the Catholic Church, this seems like a genuinely great kid, and sadly he died of cancer at age 15.

He has now been declared a Saint by Leo from the South Side:

Carlo Acutis, 'God's influencer' who died at age 15, has been declared a saint by Pope Leo

He built websites to spread Catholic teaching and is credited with two miracles pic.twitter.com/ecvQ3ZXxBk

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) September 8, 2025

I don’t know a ton about Catholicism, but I believe you have to perform two miracles to become a Saint.

So what were his?

Once again, I don’t want to diminish the fact that this seems like a great kid, but this feels a little hocus pocus to me:

The kid in question is Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager (born in London) who died of leukemia in 2006 and was recently canonized as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint on September 7, 2025.

Two miracles have been officially attributed to his intercession, paving the way for his sainthood:

Healing of a Brazilian boy (2012):
A young boy named Mattheus Vianna, who suffered from a rare pancreatic disorder that caused severe vomiting and prevented him from keeping food down (leaving him underweight and at risk of death), visited Acutis’s tomb in Assisi, Italy. After touching a relic and praying, the boy was instantly cured, able to eat normally without further issues. Medical tests in 2014 confirmed the complete healing, which the Vatican recognized as a miracle in 2020, leading to Acutis’s beatification.

Healing of a Costa Rican student (2022):
Valeria Valverde, a 21-year-old university student from Costa Rica, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury from a bicycle accident in Florence, Italy, leaving her in a coma with little chance of survival. Her mother traveled to Acutis’s tomb in Assisi to pray for her recovery. Shortly after, Valeria began breathing on her own, regained consciousness, and made a full recovery despite initial dire medical predictions. The Vatican approved this as the second miracle in 2024, enabling Acutis’s canonization.

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My real beef?

Who is getting the glory amidst all of this?

Have you seen Jesus Chris mentioned even once?

Or is there a lot of glory going to a 15-year-old kid and his “magical” tomb?

Hmmm….

Then there’s this — apparently, during the ceremony they claimed that Saint Carlo was now up in the skies amidst the constellations:

Hmmm, ok.

Again, I keep missing any reference to Jesus Christ, but maybe that’s just me.

Magical tomb?  Check.

Worshipping the stars?  Check.

Making human beings Saints?  Check.

Jesus Christ?  Missing.

Then there is this:

Oh my goodness, so he’s just “on display” now for all of eternity?

Again, so people can go visit him and marvel at him?

Does the glory go to him or to Jesus?

And what kind of witchcraft does it take to preserve a body like this and keep it perfect for years to come with no decay?  Pretty creepy if you ask me.

Here is more from CNN:

An Italian teenager who liked playing video games and making funny films of his pets became the Catholic Church’s first “millennial” saint on Sunday.

Carlo Acutis, who was just 15 when he died from leukaemia in 2006, used his computing skills to spread awareness of the Catholic faith, setting up a website documenting reports of miracles.

Nicknamed “God’s influencer,” he is seen as a pioneer of the church’s evangelizing efforts in the digital world.

Frequently depicted wearing jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, Acutis looks very different from the saints of old and he has gained a global following among young people as a relatable saint.

His canonization took place alongside that of another young man, Pier Giorgio Frassatti, who died in 1925 at age 24. The saint-making ceremony was the first presided over by Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, with thousands of young people in St. Peter’s Square.

Large crowds gathered Sunday at the Vatican city, waving signs and flags bearing Acutis’ photograph. Jubilant observers applauded following the teenager’s canonization by Pope Leo.

The canonization of the youthful saints comes at a time when the Catholic Church, led by an all-male hierarchy where senior figures are usually over 60, is exploring new ways to engage younger generations. A crisis involving clerical sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults has had a catastrophic impact on the church’s credibility.

But while the long-term trend in the West suggests young people are increasingly disengaged with mainstream religion, recent surveys and anecdotal evidence point to a rise in interest in Catholicism among Gen Z in the United States and Europe.

Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano, says she believes her son’s life and faith resonate with a generation of young people, particularly those navigating the complexities of a digital world.

“Carlo is a message of hope, because Carlo says, ‘Yes, you have to use (the internet) for good.’ This why Pope Francis called Carlo God’s influencer,” she told CNN in Assisi earlier this year.

Her son, she said, knew the “dark side” of the internet and was conscious of the addictiveness of video games, choosing only to play on his PlayStation for an hour a week.

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