Meet Carlo Acutis, a saint for the modern age

Since his remains were brought in 2019 to the sanctuary, pilgrims from across the world have flocked to pay respect, with the average age falling by a few decades, said the Rev. Domenico Sorrentino, the bishop of Assisi.

Last year, about 1 million people visited the tomb, Sorrentino said, a number that is expected to grow this year.

He was “inspirational,” said Dominic Turco, 15, of Winthrop, Massachusetts, who was visiting the church with his father.

Canonisations often respond to a need in the “larger culture” of the time, said Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame and an expert on saints.

At a time when society and the church are “very worried about the corrosive impact of technology,” she said, “he’s an example of a person who took the latest technology and then used it as a tool of evangelization.”

Church experts marvel at how quickly veneration to Carlo has spread worldwide. Social media helped spur the phenomenon. There are dozens of Facebook groups about him, and chapels and schools dedicated to him worldwide, from Peoria, Illinois, to Goa, India.

Carlo was beatified, the penultimate step toward sainthood, in 2020. He was supposed to be canonized by Pope Francis in April, to coincide with the Jubilee of Teenagers, one of dozens of events scheduled during the 2025 Holy Year. But when Francis died, the canonization was put off until this month. As part of the process, two miracles were attributed to Carlo’s intervention, one in Brazil and one in Italy.

He was buried in Assisi so he could be close to St. Francis, to whom he was devoted, said his mother, Antonia Salzano. She will be present at the canonization in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.