WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- A teen computer whiz is being beatified — a sign, Pope Francis said, that “true happiness” is found in God.
- Carlo Acutis used the internet to spread Roman Catholic teachings before he died at 15 in 2006.
- Acutis is on the path to sainthood after the Pope approved a miracle attributed to the teen.
It should be a sign to young people that “true happiness is found by putting God first and serving people.” During his Angelus on Sunday, that’s what Pope Francis said after an Italian computer whiz kid has been beatified.
Carlo Acutis, who died from leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006, helped spread Roman Catholic teaching online. Acutis is on the path to sainthood after being beatified in the town of Assisi.
Born in London to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, Acutis moved to Milan with his Italian parents when he was still a child. Even when he was very young, he showed signs of deep religious devotion.
From the age of three, he would request to visit churches they passed in Milan. He also donated his pocket money to poor people.
While he was in primary school, Acutis taught himself how to code. Using his self-taught skills, he made websites for Catholic organizations. When he died, Acutis asked to be buried in Assisi because of his admiration for Saint Francis of Assisi, who had been dedicated to helping the poor.
Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to the teen: a Brazillian boy, 7, recovered from a rare pancreatic disorder after he came into contact with one of Acutis’s shirts.
Salzano also said that Acutis had cured a woman’s cancer by praying to the Madonna of Pompeii. A second miracle has to be approved before Acutis can be declared a saint, though, on rare occasions, Pope Francis has waived that condition.
Pope Francis paid tribute to Acutis in 2019, saying he used the internet to “communicate values and beauty”, an ideal way to counteract social media’s negative effects.
Source: The Guardian
