Catholic Church to canonize its first millennial saint

London-born Italian Carlo Acutis is set to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.

The teenager died at the age of 15 from leukaemia, after which the websites he built to spread Catholic teaching earned him the nickname 'God’s Influencer'.

Pope Leo will canonize Acutis in Rome on Sunday 7 September, along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, another young Catholic activist who died a century ago.

The late Pope Francis cleared the way for the canonization of Acutis, with the first of two miracles attributed to him by the Church.

He was credited with healing a 7-year-old boy from Brazil who recovered from a rare pancreatic disorder after coming into contact with one of the teen's t-shirts.

In the Catholic tradition, relics of the saint-to-be are displayed at various churches in Italy, and also in Brazil where this first reputed miracle took place.

Acutis is known to have been a skilful coder, with his whiz-kid reputation starting to grow when he created websites for Catholic organisations, including one that listed miracles.

Thousands of faithful are expected to attend the ceremony to take place in St. Peter's Square outside the Vatican on Sunday.