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Brit teenager dubbed ‘God’s influencer’ who died aged 15 becomes first millennial saint after performing miracles
A BRIT teenager dubbed “God’s influencer” who died aged 15 has become the first millennial saint after performing a slew of miracles.
London-born Carlo Acutis, who died from leukaemia in 2006, was canonised in a highly-anticipated ceremony led by Pope Leo in front of tens of thousands of worshippers.
Carlo Acutis has been canonised as the first ever millennial saint[/caption]
The London-born miracle-performer died aged 15 in 2006[/caption]
Flocks of Catholics gathered for the historic ceremony[/caption]
Tens of thousands of people gathered for the ceremony on Sunday[/caption]
It marked Pope Leo’s first canonisation ceremony[/caption]
Carlo’s canonisation was approved by Pope Francis last year after a second miracle attributed to Carlo was approved by the Vatican.
His much-awaited canonisation on Sunday now puts him in the same ranks as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.
The awe-inspiring open-air Mass in St. Peters Square was attended by tens of thousands of devotees from around the world.
In the first saint-making Mass of his pontificate, Leo also canonised another popular Italian figure who died young, Pier Giorgio Frassati.
A total of 36 cardinals, 270 bishops and hundreds of priests attended the historic celebration.
The teenage tech whiz and Italian national drew the attention of Catholics across the globe after learning to code websites and spreading his faith.
He was set to be given a catholic sainthood on April 27, 2025, by Francis.
The complicated canonisation process involves a candidate being named a servant of God, their life being proved as a heroic virtue, the candidate being beatified and then finally being canonised as a Saint.
However, the Vatican said it has postponed the sainthood of Carlo, whose body has been perfectly preserved after he died as a teenager, following the tragic death of Pope Francis.
The former Pope had fervently pushed Carlo’s sainthood case forward – convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith.
Pope Francis had also been very impressed by Carlo’s ability to connect with new-gen Catholics in the digital age.
St. Peter’s Square was already packed with pilgrims brimming with excitement hours before the start of the holy event.
Pope Leo told pious crowds that both Carlo and Pier Giorgio were examples of holiness, and of helping those in need.
The pontiff told spilling crowds in the Vatican: “All of you, all of us together, are called to be saints.”
One god-fearing Catholic attending the ceremony told Reuters: “We are very pleased to be here because Carlo and Pier Giorgio are two examples of young people full of God, full of grace, and we want to follow their steps.”
Being made a saint means the Church believes a person lived a holy life and is now in Heaven with God.
Tens of thousands of young Catholics from around the globe attended[/caption]
Spilling crowds lined up to get a glimpse of the event[/caption]
Pope Leo spoke to the masses in St. Peter’s Square[/caption]
Bishops attended the jaw-dropping event[/caption]
‘God’s Influencer’
Italian boy Carlos, who was born in London, was credited with many miracles, including healing a six-year-old boy who inexplicably recovered from a rare pancreatic condition after touching a relic of Acutis.
He lived an all-too-short life of devout religious work and also created a website to document every reported Eucharistic miracle.
The boy also regularly provided care and support to the homeless in his native Milan.
The Brit-born teen requested to be buried in Assisi before his death, having become an admirer of St. Francis of Assisi because of his dedication to the poor.
His body lies encased in a wax layer which is moulded to look like his body before his burial.
Carlo’s miracles
by Harvey Geh
SAINT Carlo Acutis performed a slew of miracles – some of which were recognised by the Vatican.
In 2020, a young Brazilian boy born with a rare pancreatic condition was healed after touching a relic of Carlo and receiving prayers for his intercession.
Mattheus Vianna, who was six years old, touched a picture of Carlo at a Mass held on the anniversary of Carlo’s death, October 12, asked to “stop vomiting so much” – before he was instantly healed.
In 2022 a Costa Rican university student named Valeria Valverde suffered a severe head injury with brain hemorrhage.
She became critically ill and had to undergo surgery.
Her mum prayed at Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, and Valeria began breathing on her own the same day, later recovering fully with no medical explanation.
Carlo’s mum also told Italian media that one woman who had been diagnosed with breast cancer prayed to her holy son – before being completely healed without the help of chemotherapy.
The teenage saint spent years building a website documenting Eucharistic miracles before his tragic death.
The teenage saint is clad in a tracksuit and sneakers and has been on display for veneration in the sanctuary for more than five years.
His heart is also on display in a reliquary in the nearby St. Francis Basilica.
After being laid to rest in 2019, his holy legacy lived on – and in 2020, the miracle in which he healed a six-year-old boy attributed to his intervention was recognised by the Vatican.
In October that year, he was given the title “Blessed”, which means to be beatified.
This came after a second miracle attributed to Carlo was aprooved by the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV leading the holy Mass on Sunday[/caption]
Carlo’s body on display pictured on Sunday[/caption]
Pilgrims gather in St. Peter’s Square for the canonisation of Carlo and Pier Giorgio[/caption]
This miracle saw the teen’s spirit responsible for saving the life of a young Costa Rican woman who suffered severe head trauma after falling from her bicycle in Florence in 2022.
The woman required intense surgery, but after her desperate mother made the pilgrimage to Carlo’s tomb, her daughter suddenly started moving and regaining speech just days later.
CAT scans on the recovering woman, named Valeria Valverde, then showed that her haemorrhage had disappeared.
The mother and daughter then both made the pilgrimage to Assisi one month later after making a speedy recovery.
Who is ‘God’s Influencer’?
by Lydia Doyle
- “God’s Influencer”, Carlo Acutis, was born in London in 1991.
- Carlo later moved to Milan with his Italian parents.
- According to his parents, Carlo would always ask to visit churches he passed in Milan from the age of three.
- His mum Antonia Salzano said he would often donate his pocket money to poor people and take meals and sleeping bags to rough sleepers.
- Carlo also had an eye for web design and designed sites for his parish and school.
- Carlo launched a website seeking to document every reported Eucharistic miracle.
- The teenager died from leukaemia in 2006, and during his burial in 2019, the church was reportedly so full that people were lining up outside to get in.
- Carlo was attributed to two Vatican-recognised miracles.
- These meant he was beatified as a saint – making him the first “millennial saint”.
- His first miracle was the healing of a six-year-old Brazilian boy who was suffering from a rare pancreatic disorder.
- The boy was cured after touching one of Carlo’s T-shirts.
- The second saw a Costa Rican woman miraculously recover from a severe bicycle accident injury.
- The woman recovered after her mum made a pilgrimage to Carlo’s tomb.
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I tricked ATMs into giving me £1MILLION in free cash – I blew the lot on wild benders… and I nearly got away with it
A BARTENDER who lived like a rockstar after exploiting an ATM glitch to send himself millions of pounds says he has no regrets – and only got caught because he came clean.
Dan Saunders was drinking with a pal in Wangaratta, Australia, when he tried to transfer $200 (£96) from his credit card to his current account to pay for a round.
Dan Saunders pictured by a private jet with flutes of champagne standing with two female pals[/caption]
Dan lived the high roller life until he confessed to his crime[/caption]
Dan spent the cash of partying, travelling and also gave some away to those in need[/caption]
It was then that the cash point glitched and returned his card, depositing the money in his current account without affecting the balance on his credit card.
Four months later, he’d spent $1.6m (£775,000) on private jets, hotel suites, and lavish parties – living a rockstar lifestyle on the bank’s money.
And while he eventually came clean, served his time, and now puts his energy into good causes, he still fondly remembers those whirlwind few months.
He told The Sun: “It was like Christmas. It was an amazing feeling.
“I knew it was wrong but I also knew that it was the greatest feeling that I’ve ever had in my life.
“I was walking around as an average guy one day, and then suddenly you’ve got all this money, and you’re desirable to people that would normally never look at you twice.
“You can go anywhere, you don’t have to answer to anyone, and you can also spread the joy among your friends so they can come along for the journey.”
To exploit the glitch, Dan used the ATM between midnight and 1am, when he was allowed to send himself six-figure sums, despite the $2,000 limit on his card.
And since the bank wouldn’t recall the funds for over 24 hours, he could just send himself more money the next night to stop his account being overdrawn.
The spending started small, with taxi rides and random acts of generosity.
But after losing his job and his girlfriend in quick succession, Mr Saunders left Wangaratta for the big city, moving to Melbourne.
Soon the brakes were off.
He said: “It was a life of presidential hotel suites, lots of friends I will never remember the names of, lots of hangers-on, partying, bottle service, and drinks.
“We were trying something bigger every day, stupid stuff like we’d go and give buskers $500, or tip a cabbie $200.
“We’d go to the strip club and have every single person in the place jumping because we were shouting all the drinks and all the girls’ dances.”
After realising that the bank wouldn’t reverse money transfers over the weekend, he even chartered a private jet to Bali for himself and 14 friends.
“We spent a few days, took some girls and some drinks, and just had a good time,” recalled Dan.
Footing the bill was the National Australia Bank (NAB).
To show his appreciation, Mr Saunders threw them a party.
He said: “There’s this place called the Watermark bar underneath the NAB headquarters in Melbourne.
Dan wearing a robe in a hotel room[/caption]
Dan pictured by a yacht[/caption]
Posed up next to a private jet wearing a tuxedo[/caption]
He had a brief few months of living the high life[/caption]
“So we put this sign up at the bottom of the escalator on a Friday saying ‘free drinks at the Watermark bar’.
“We filled the bar up with NAB employees and we’re paying for all the drinks with the bank’s money.
“My friend got up and made a speech saying how it’s been such a great year, we really appreciate the bank’s help, and we look forward to working with you in the future.
“No one knew who we were, they were just happy to have the free drinks and clapped.”
Mr Saunders wasn’t just changing his own life either.
“We were giving money away,” he said.
“Getting people around in a room, explaining to them that you have the means to make their dreams come true, and that you’re willing to do it.
“We gave $20,000 to someone for their honeymoon and sent a lady to France to study French, because that was her dream.
“She met someone over there and now lives in Paris, with her French husband and she’s completely loving life.”
But it couldn’t last forever.
“Physically I thought I was going to die because it was just one party after another,” said Dan.
“Also you just couldn’t tell who your friends were.
“If you’ve got a lot of money, you don’t really know exactly what someone’s agenda is.
“I knew that it wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. I knew it wasn’t my story.”
Dan discovered the glitch in February 2011, and called the bank to confess four months later.
He’d spent an estimated $1.6m, and at times he’d had as much as $5m (£2.4m) in his account.
What crime was Dan convicted of?
DAN Saunder’s exploitation of the ATM glitch landed him with 12 months in jail.
He was sentenced on charges of fraud and theft after blowing $1.6million of the bank’s cash.
And once Dan was released from prison, he had to serve 18 months on licence.
He was also ordered to pay almost $250,000 to the National Australia Bank.
Mr Saunders recalled: “The bank said you’re in a lot of trouble, the matter’s been referred to the police.
“But then time went past and no one ever came to get me.”
Even then, he might have got away with it if he’d just kept his head down.
But Dan wanted the situation resolved one way or the other, so he went public.
He said: “I called their bluff in a way and just admitted to it very publicly.
“I think the fact that it became public made it something they had to just address.”
He’d already come clean in several articles by the time he appeared on A Current Affair, an Aussie TV show, in late 2014.
He was finally arrested a few days later.
Convicted in 2015, he was jailed for a year.
Ten years on, the 44-year-old has got no regrets – but now puts his efforts into helping people suffering with gambling addiction, and working for charities.
“I think it was great to do it once,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve got closer to where I’m comfortable with being as a human in this world.
“And I know that all the trappings and all the money in the world, it’s not actually it.”
What is Dan doing now?
HE was a jet setter with millions in the bank, then he was a jailbird, but where is ATM trickster Dan Saunders now?
Today the 44-year-old volunteers for the Gambling Impact Society, educating young people about the perils of addiction.
Gambling played a part in Dan’s downfall too – soon after discovering the glitch, he tried to win enough money to reimburse the bank.
“I was gambling at the pub where I used to work,” he said.
“And we were gambling so much that we gambled more in one night than the pub would turn over in a month.
“I got fired because of that.”
These days, Mr Saunders pays the bills by managing holiday lets in Byron Bay.
And though his story is set to become a feature film, Australia’s proceeds of crime law means he won’t profit from it.
Now it’s his charity work that gives him purpose.
He said: “I do the most fulfilling thing in my life right now, and I never would have got there if I hadn’t had all these experiences with the bank and the gambling.
“I go and help young people who’ve got a gambling addiction and help them to get out of it.
“And that is the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done in my life.”