The Patron Saint of the Internet

Carlo Acutis, who died at 15 in 2016, took the first step toward becoming a saint in the Catholic Church. The Church believes that he interceded from heaven in 2013 to cure a Brazilian boy who was suffering from a rare pancreatic disease. One more miracle and he will be declared a saint. Last weekend he was beatified in 2020 at a ceremony in Assisi. He may become the Church’s first millennial saint.

"Carlo used the internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible," Cardinal Agostino Vallini said at the ceremony. Acutis took care of websites for local Catholic organizations and also created some of his own.

The teenager was also involved in charity work and spent his own money on helping disadvantaged people in his local area. He also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Milan. And, his mother says, "With his savings, he bought sleeping bags for homeless people and in the evening he brought them hot drinks."