A teenager known as a "divine influencer" who spread the Gospel on the Web and loved video games will be canonized a saint, the Vatican has announced. Carlo Akutis, born in 1991, will become the Catholic Church's first "millennial saint" after his canonization was approved by cardinals convened by Pope Francis.

Akutis died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, but dedicated his short life to spreading the Catholic faith and helping the poor. He was born in London to Italian parents, but spent most of his life in Milan. Accutis is remembered by his family as enjoying playing video games such as Halo (naturally), Super Mario, and Pokemon, and had a PlayStation since he was eight years old.

Although it takes decades, if not centuries, to become a saint, Acutis has become famous and immensely popular among Catholics. Often depicted in jeans and trainers, the teenager has earned the nickname "God's Influencer" because of his online activities and because he represents the younger generation of Catholics: Acutis has documented reports of miracles around the world He created a website and gained a large following.

"You can be holy, just as I was," his mother, Antonia Salzano, told CNN in May.

"Yet, [with] all the media and technology, it sometimes seems as if holiness is a thing of the past. Rather, holiness is also a thing of this modern age."

Salzano said, "I think it's important to remember that holiness is not a thing of the past; it is a thing of this modern age.

Salzano further said that since the age of 9, Acutis spent his time helping the homeless in Milan, especially insisting on having only one pair of shoes, and used the money he saved to help the poor.

To become a saint, a candidate must perform two distinct miracles and be investigated in considerable detail by Church authorities. Acutis was first canonized in 2020. This is because a Brazilian boy with a defective pancreas was healed after his mother prayed to Accutis to help her son.

The second miracle was the reported healing of a Costa Rican girl who suffered serious head injuries after falling off her bicycle in Florence, Italy. Her mother prayed for the girl's recovery at the tomb of Acutis in Assisi, and lo and behold, her daughter made a full recovery.

Acutis' path to sainthood was unusually short. Since one must wait five years after death before being recommended for canonization, Acutis' canonization began in 2012, six years after his death. He was made "Venerable" in 2018, "Blessed" in 2020, and is expected to be canonized a saint in the Catholic Church's Holy Year celebration in 2025, although the timing has not yet been determined. At that time, the Pope will officially declare Acutis a saint in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, after which the Catholic Church will be able to remember him each year on a feast day and name parishes and schools after him.

One of the stranger manifestations of Akyutis' posthumous fame is a project entitled "The Akyutis Game." Billed as "the first Catholic open-world metaverse," the game is apparently about Acutis traveling back in time through the centuries, meeting other saints and important figures in Catholic history, and touring various holy sites. Among other things, this metaverse allows you to ski as a young Pope John Paul II.