Blessed Carlo Acutis will be the first millennial saint, who was also quite a gamer in his life…

Well, it had to happen sooner or later: the Catholic Church is preparing to canonize the first gamer saint! The Vatican announced today that it will canonize Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who will become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Acutis died of leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15.

Acutis was born in London in 1991 and soon after moved to Milan, Italy, with his family.

Raised in the Catholic faith, he often volunteered with the homeless, cleaned up trash in his neighbourhood, worked at his local church, and performed other charitable acts.

Among his other hobbies and interests, Acutis apparently loved video games. He was known to play Halo, Mario and Pokemon games. His mother claims that although she bought him a PlayStation when he was eight, she limited gaming to one hour a week due to addiction concerns. Acutis was tech-savvy and was referred to as “God’s influencer” as he documented various Catholic miracles on a website he designed.

Acutis has gone through several stages of the canonization process in recent years. Canonization can often take years or even decades. In general, at least two miracles must be attributed to the candidate, in addition to additional evidence of a life of faith.

However, Acutis’ case was embraced by many, partly because of his familiarity and popularity among younger Catholics.

His canonization case was opened in 2012, just six years after his death (a five-year waiting period is required). He was beatified in 2020 when the Catholic Church recognized one of the miracles attributed to him. A Brazilian boy born with a severe congenital disability and unable to eat normally was reportedly cured after his mother prayed for the intercession of Acutis. Since then, another miracle has been attributed to him involving a Costa Rican girl. She is said to have recovered from her head injury after her mother was praying at the grave of Acutis.

Since the church recognized both miracles, Acutis will be canonized and will likely be canonized in 2025.

It is noteworthy that Acutis is the very first millennial Catholic saint. The first saint to be proven to have played video games. This is partly due to the difficulties of canonization and the long time it usually takes. As a result, most of them are canonized tens or even hundreds of years after his death. In that case, Acutis’ youth and recognizability among younger Catholics could benefit the church in its ongoing efforts to reach out to younger people and digital natives.

Source: CNN