Catholic Church may have its patron saint of the Internet

Carlo Akutis. Photo: nbcnews.com

The Roman Catholic Church is close to beatifying 15-year-old Carlo Akutis – a "computer genius", who died of leukemia in 2006 in Milan, reports NBC News.

According to the publication, Carlo Akutis will be beatified (recognition by the church that a person has entered heaven and has the capacity to intercede on behalf of those who pray in his or her name is the final step before sainthood) in Assisi, Italy, in October this year. Carlo Akutis is reported to be likely to become a "patron saint of the Internet".

Carlo's mother, Antonia Salzano, said that in many ways her son was a normal teenager who liked playing video games but at the same time he created a website cataloging miracles around the world.

According to Jay Briden, president of Faith Technologies, a Catholic organization, the canonization of Carlo can be seen as Pope Francis "sending a message that there is a place for technology and the continued growth of our faith and development of the next generation of Catholics."

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Pope Francis called the Internet "a gift from God".

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