VATICAN CITY (AP) — On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV elevated a 15-year-old tech-savvy teen to sainthood, marking him as the first millennial saint of the Catholic Church. This move provides younger Catholics with a relatable figure who utilized digital platforms to disseminate the faith, aptly earning him the title “God’s influencer.”

In front of an enthusiastic crowd of about 80,000 gathered in St. Peter’s Square, many of whom were millennials and families with young children, Leo canonized Carlo Acutis, who passed away in 2006. This was the pope’s inaugural saint-making Mass, where he also canonized another cherished Italian who died young, Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Leo said both men created “masterpieces” out of their lives by dedicating them to God.

“The biggest risk in life is to live it outside of God’s purpose,” Leo expressed during his homily. The new saints “invite us all, especially the youth, to use our lives wisely and elevate them to become masterpieces.”

An ordinary life that became extraordinary

Born on May 3, 1991, in London to a wealthy family not deeply engaged in Catholic traditions, Acutis relocated to Milan shortly after birth and enjoyed a normal, joyful upbringing, although he developed a strong religious fervor over time.

His keen interest in computer science led him to consume collegiate-level programming literature from an early age. Dubbed “God’s Influencer,” he’s remembered for creating a multilingual website showcasing recognized Eucharistic miracles, a task he accomplished when building such sites was typically left to professionals.

Acutis was also known for dedicating hours daily to prayer before the Eucharist. The Catholic leadership has been encouraging the practice of Eucharistic adoration, as surveys indicate many Catholics do not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic elements.

But Acutis limited himself to an hour of video games a week, apparently deciding long before TikTok that human relationships were far more important than virtual ones. That discipline and restraint has proved appealing to the Catholic hierarchy, which has sounded the alarm about the dangers of today’s tech-driven society.

In October 2006, at age 15, Acutis fell ill with what was quickly diagnosed as acute leukemia. Within days, he was dead. He was entombed in Assisi, which is known for its association with another popular saint, St. Francis.

Millions flock to Acutis’ tomb

In the years since his death, young Catholics have flocked by the millions to Assisi, where they can see the young Acutis through a glass-sided tomb, dressed in jeans, Nike sneakers and a sweatshirt. He seems as if he’s sleeping, and questions have swirled about how his body was so well preserved, especially since parts of his heart have even toured the world as relics.

Both saint-making ceremonies had been scheduled for earlier this year, but were postponed following Pope Francis’ death in April. Francis had fervently pushed the Acutis sainthood case forward, convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age.

“It’s like I can maybe not be as great as Carlo may be, but I can be looking after him and be like, ‘What would Carlo do?’” said Leo Kowalsky, an 8th grader at a Chicago school attached to the Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish.

Kowalsky said he was particularly excited that his own namesake — Pope Leo — would be canonizing the patron of his school. “It’s kind of all mashed up into one thing, so it is a joy to be a part of,” Kowalsky said in an interview last week.

Much of Acutis’ popularity is thanks to a concerted campaign by the Vatican to give the next generation of faithful a “saint next door” who was ordinary but did extraordinary things in life. In Acutis, they found a relatable tech-savvy millennial — the term used to describe a person born roughly between 1981 and 1996 who was the first generation to reach adulthood in the new millennium.

The Vatican said 36 cardinals, 270 bishops and hundreds of priests had signed up to celebrate the Mass along with Leo in a sign of the saints’ enormous appeal to the hierarchy and ordinary faithful alike.

Popular piety for the digital age

An hour before the Mass, St. Peter’s Square was already full with pilgrims, many of them young millennial Italians, many with toddlers in strollers.

“I learned from different people what his professors, his teachers said about his joy and the light he carried around him,” said Leopoldo Antimi, a 27-year-old Roman who got to the square early to secure a spot. “So for me personally as an Italian, even on social networks that are used so much, it is important to have him as an influencer.”

Matthew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at Holy Cross college in Worcester, Massachusetts, said Acutis’ canonization extends the church tradition of popular piety to the digital age.

“He becomes an emblem or model of how Catholics should approach and use the digital world–with discipline and with a focus on traditional Catholic spirituality that defies the passage of time,” he said in statement. “He is a new saint of simplicity for the ever complex digital landscape of contemporary Catholicism.”

Frassati, the other saint being canonized Sunday, lived from 1901-1925, when he died at age 24 of polio. He was born into a prominent Turin family but is known for his devotion to serving the poor and carrying out acts of charity while spreading his faith to his friends.