Italian teen set to be first millennial saint was 'ordinary child', says mother

FILE PHOTO: A girl visits the tomb of Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 aged 15, in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi, Italy, May 26, 2024. Pope Francis has cleared the way for Acutis to be the first saint of the millennial generation. REUTERS/Matteo Berlenga/File Photo

ASSISI, Italy (Reuters) - Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who built websites to spread his faith, will be proclaimed the Catholic Church's first saint of the millennial generation this month, elevating him to the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.

There is no doubt he was special, his mother Antonia Salzano Acutis told Reuters. But in many ways, she said, he was like any other teen.