https://www.xataka.com/magnet/iglesia-tiene-a-su-primer-santo-millennial-dique-para-contener-crisis-fe-jovenes

The Catholic saint list is poised for a new rise. Yes, it is quite different from what the Vatican is used to us. The person who will join the Church’s hagiographic chronicle on this occasion is a young man who died at the age of 15, was fond of computers and video games (they said), and whose body was openly exposed. The tomb in Assisi, in Italy’s Umbria region, was dressed like any teenager we might pass on the street, in a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. His name is Carlo Acutis.

Although he came to be known as the first saint millennial.

millennial generation They reach out to Catholic saints. Over the centuries, the Catholic calendar of saints has been filled with thousands and thousands of names, but the calendar of Carlos Acutis will stand out with an interesting fact beyond his life or the miracles attributed to him: He will be God’s first saint. Millennial generation. Acutis passed away 18 years ago in October 2006; However, he was still a teenager, only 15 years old, when he died as a victim of fulminant leukemia.

If his age isn’t enough to describe him millennial, the chronicles about Acutis are responsible for emphasizing that – religious affiliation aside – he was just another child of his time: they say he loved computers, video games or football. And it wasn’t bad at all on computers. In fact, he had learned enough on his own to develop a website documenting miracles.

But… who is Carlo Acutis? first saint millennial He was born in London in May 1991, but moved with his family to Milan in September of the same year, where he studied, received First Communion and Confirmation, and was diagnosed with severe leukemia in 2006, aged 15. This brought his life to an abrupt end within a few days: he received the news at Marchi’s clinic on October 9, and was pronounced legally dead less than a week later.

After the Diocese of Assisi claimed his right to sainthood, the Church officially filed the lawsuit to add him to the list of Catholic saints. The process began in 2012, seven years later his body was exhumed (including whether the body was “degenerate”) was discussed, in 2020 the Pope declared him a saint, and now everything points to it not being long for him. first saint of the cohort millennial.

Why is it news now? Because the Church paved the way to make him a saint. The news was reported a few days ago by Vatican News: During a meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, president of the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints, the Pope approved the decree regarding one of the miracles attributed to Acutis. It may seem like a small problem, but this gesture is necessary for the teenager to be canonized. As CNN reminds us, saint candidates usually need two proven miracles.

The church had already recognized Carlo for supposedly curing a child with pancreatic malformation. He now attributes another: the apparent recovery, under equally extraordinary circumstances, of a young woman who suffered a serious head injury after falling off her bicycle in Florence. In the first case, healing is assumed to be achieved after the child comes into contact with an Acutis residue (more precisely, a piece of a T-shirt); In the second, after visiting the grave of the young woman’s mother, Carlo.

The Internet and its “patron saint”. The fact that the second miracle was accepted does not mean that Acutis was already a saint according to all canons. After the pope’s edict is signed, at least two more steps remain: a summit of cardinals to discuss Acutis’ canonization and set a date for the official canonization ceremony. In any case, the Vatican’s official news portal, Vatican News, titled its chronicle in a way that implied that all that remained was formalism: “Charles Acutis and the founder of the Missionaries of Consolata will become saints.”

Carlo Acutis is already known as the first saint of the millennium generation. And that’s not his only nickname. There are those who see him as the true “patron saint of the Internet”, but in reality he was named Pope John Paul II almost fifteen years ago. John Paul gave this title to St. Isidore of Seville, a bishop, scientist and theologian who lived between the centuries. VI and VII, between 560 and 636.

It is no coincidence that Acutis is associated with the Internet. Records of his short life highlight his love of computers and how he learned enough to create a website about miracles on his own or moderate the pages of local Catholic organizations. “Carlo was a brilliant answer to the dark side of the internet,” his mother said. New York TimesMeanwhile, some devotees described him as “a influencer of God”.

Connecting with young people. Akutis’ canonization comes in a particularly sensitive context for the Catholic Church, which has seen its influence in society diminish over the years, especially among the younger population. Last year the CIS showed that only 37% of those under 25 declared themselves Catholic. Among young people who were not yet 35 years old, this rate was lower at 31%. Ten years ago both rates were 45 percent and 59 percent; If you look back even further, 20 years ago, both were around 70 percent.

A young saint (for young people). In a way, Carlo Acutis renews the traditional saint image. And the most striking spectacle is him resting in his grave in Assisi in a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers. Additionally, hagiographers often present him as a teenager who shared the tastes of most boys his age, such as football or video games.

There are already those who scroll this part of the image, but they will have to, and there are statements confirming, for example, that he did not like football or that he did not usually wear sneakers, as seen in his grave. In Umbria, mostly in moccasins.

Image | Wikipedia (Dobroş)

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