Who is Carlo Acutis? First 'millennial' set to become 'saint' 18 years after death

United Kingdom-born teenager Carlo Acutis, who died at the age of 15 fromleukaemia in 2006, will now become the first "millennial saint" of the Catholic Church.

Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991. He was a computer prodigy who at a very early age had developed websites for spreading the teachings of the church online before he died. Since then, he has been known as "God's influencer".

Acutislived with his parents in Italy. After his death, his body was shifted to a tomb where it was kept on full display along with the boy's belongings.

According to Carlo's mother, the boy at a very early age showed signs of religious devotion and used to ask his parents to take him to church at the age of 3.

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The boy used to donate his pocket money to the church to help the poor. Carlo had himself learnt how to create websites for Catholic organisations.

Acutialso built a platform which had documents of all the miracles which took place across the globe.

Why did the church decide to grant Carlo Acutis 'sainthood'?

The church decided to grant a 15-year-old sainthood after it was reported that a seven-year-old Brazilian boy made a sudden recovery from a rare pancreatic disease after touching one of Acutis's t-shirts. A priest had also prayed to Carlo Acutis on behalf of the child.

The church deemed the boy's recovery as miraculous after the Pope assessed and approved it.

According to Catholicism, one person is qualified to become a saint if two miraculous events happen related to them and are approved by the Pope.

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A second miracle attributed to Acutis was approvedby Pope Francis on Thursday (May 23), which qualified the teenager for canonisation.

In Florence, a university studentwas in critical condition after suffering a brain bleed after a bicycle accident, said her family.

The student's mother prayed at the tomb of Acutis for her recovery after which she said her daughter was moved from the ventilator and later in the scans, the brain injury had disappeared.

Acutis is the first person to be canonised among those born in the 1990s.

(With inputs from agencies)