Fifteen Year-Old Carlos Acutis, First Millennial Saint

[Della]

Pope Leo XIV declares teen computer whiz Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint

"Pope Leo XIV declared a 15-year-old computer whiz the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint Sunday, giving the next generation of Catholics a relatable role model who used technology to spread the faith and earn the nickname “God’s influencer.”

Carlos used his computer skills to spread his faith by collecting stories of Eucharistic miracles and posting them online. At fifteen he was diagnosed with leukemia and died a few days later.

 

[hollydolly]

...and he's British !

It's an incredible and tragic story!

 

[hollydolly]

Pope Leo XIV told scores of young worshippers to 'make your life a masterpiece' after canonising 15-year-old London-born Carlo Acutis, making him Britain's first Gen Z saint.

Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006, was raised to sainthood in a solemn ceremony in St Peter's Square, with his family watching on. Many young people were among the crowd, which the Vatican estimated at about 80,000.

Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian mountaineering enthusiast who died of polio aged 24 in 1925, was also made a saint on Sunday. Tapestries showing images of both young men were displayed on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica.

before anyone clicks on this link, be aware that the boy is lying in state in a glass coffin, so you can see him clearly...

St Peter's Square fills for canonisation of Gen Z saint Carlo Acutis

 

[hollydolly]

It's incredible to learn he's been dead for 19 years.. and there's been no deterioration in his body in that time.... he literally looks like he's just fallen asleep yesterday

 

[hollydolly]

I just read this......no wonder he looks so perfectly preserved..



Acutis was initially buried in the Ternengo town cemetery in the Italian region of Piedmont after his death on October 10, 2006, before being transferred to the cemetery in Assisi, in January 2007.

Twelve years later, his body was exhumed and his remains were transferred to the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi, where he is displayed in a glass-panelled tomb today.

But if Acutis looks perfectly preserved, that's because a silicon mask of his face was constructed to conceal signs of decay. His hands, which are also on display, are covered in a film of wax to keep them preserved.

The remains of saints in Europe, especially in Italy, are often encased in a wax layer, so that they can be presented in a glass reliquary and pilgrims can see the saint as they were when they died.

His heart, however, was cut out and preserved in a golden reliquary and transferred to the nearby Cathedral of San Rufino, while cuttings of his hair and parts of his organs were saved as relics for veneration.
As per Catholic tradition, first-class relics - such as pieces of the Saint's hair, bone, or blood - are distributed to churches and shrines.

His physical remains are housed in the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, but parts of his pericardium, hair, clothing, and hospital sheet have been sent to other places, such as the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust in the UK, the Columbia Newman Center in the US, and parishes in Brazil and elsewhere.