Catholic worshippers flocked to witness the preserved body of a British teenager, affectionately known as 'God's influencer'.
London-born Carlo Acutis, who had always showed a strong devotion to God, died at the age of 15 from leukaemia in 2006.
Acutis will be honoured into sainthood by the Catholic Pope in upcoming months. He earned the nickname 'God's influencer' for his tech-savviness, sometimes also being referred to as the 'patron saint of the internet'.
During his life, the young man set up a website named 'The Eucharistic Miracles of the World', in which he would catalogue 'Christian-related miracles' from around the world.
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A six-year-old boy also inexplicably recovered from a rare pancreatic condition after touching a relic of Acutis, which was recognised by the Vatican in 2020.
Carlo's spirit was also attributed as having performed a second miracle for saving the life of a woman in 2022. Valeria Valverde suffered severe head trauma from falling from her bicycle, and needed intense surgery for her injuries.
However, after her mother made a pilgrimage to the teen's resting place, Valverde reportedly quickly recovered, and CAT scans showed that her her haemorrhage had disappeared. She also inexplicably regained speech and mobility despite the seriousness of her injuries.
This was once again acknowledged by the Vatican in 2024, and Pope Francis approved his 'canonisation', set for 27 April, 2025. This is the official admission of a dead person into sainthood, according to the Roman Catholic Church, and he will be the first 'millennial saint'.
Before he died, his final wish was to be laid to rest at the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
As reported by Aleteia, the web designer's body has been encased in a wax layer moulded to look like Carlo before he died.
Supporters visited the church in Assisi earlier this week, which also included a gift shop with souvenirs and mementos of 'God's influencer'.
His mother Antonia, 57, said that 'having a child like Carlo was special for me'.
She told The Times that her son started to read the Bible and ask 'very profound questions' following the death of her father.
"Carlo told me he saw my father who asked him for prayers, and he started to pray a lot for dead people. He was only five," Antonia admitted.
"We lived in the centre of Milan, a town full of beggars, and he would stop and say, ‘I have everything, a bed and meals, and these people are suffering with nothing’."
Aged nine, he said, 'Mama, can I buy some sleeping bags for them, some blankets?'
"He made us save money. If I bought him a pair of shoes, when he already had a pair, he would say, ‘I don’t need new shoes, there are people who are starving, why don’t we save it to give to the poor people?’" she explained.
"He was older than his age, not a child of nine years old when he was nine, he was very mature."
At school, Carlo's mum said he was 'very bright and nice', would often 'defend bullied people' and protect 'classmates that were shy or reserved and had problems getting on with others'.
Carlo passed away from leukaemia at just 15 years old, saying in the hospital that he was 'happy to die', as he had 'lived my life without wasting a minute on those things which do not please God', as per the Catholic Herald.
"During the funeral, the church was so full that a lot of people had to remain outside," Antonia added.
"Many of these people were the migrants and they were all friends of Carlo."
Topics: World News
Anish Vij