International News
Pope Leo Declares ‘God’s Influencer’ First Millennial Saint
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Vatican on Sunday as Pope Leo XIV proclaimed the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint, an Italian teenager dubbed “God’s Influencer” for his efforts to spread the faith online.
London-born Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was canonised in a solemn ceremony in St Peter’s Square, with his family watching on.
Many young people were among the crowd, which the Vatican estimated at about 80,000.
“He was able to combine his everyday life — school, football and his passion for IT and computers — with an unshakeable faith,” said Filippo Bellaviti, 17.
He told AFP the atmosphere was “beautiful”, adding: “Seeing people from so many parts of the world, you can see the affection for Carlo for what he’s done.”
Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian mountaineering enthusiast who died of polio aged 24 in 1925, was also made a saint on Sunday.
Tapestries showing images of both young men were displayed on the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces,” Pope Leo said in his homily.
“Even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God,” he said.
Modern saint
The canonisation of the so-called “cyber-apostle” has sparked interest across the globe, as his is not the traditional image of a Catholic saint.
His preserved body, which lies in a glass-walled tomb in the Italian town of Assisi, is starkly modern, dressed in jeans and a pair of Nike trainers.
Acutis’s mother, Antonia Salzano, said her son was proof that “we are all called to be saints… everyone is special”.
She attended the canonisation mass with her family, including the teen’s two siblings born after his death. His brother Michele gave a reading.
Almost a million pilgrims visited Acutis’s tomb in Assisi last year, according to the diocese.
Initially set for April but postponed following the death of Pope Francis, Sunday’s canonisation was the first for US-born Pope Leo.
“I’m happy to see so many young people!” he remarked ahead of the mass.
Among the crowd was Eleanor Hauser, 15, on a school trip to Italy from the US state of North Carolina. She said she had been told about Acutis by her Catholic grandmother.
“It shows that you can do so much even when you’re young, you can make an impact on the world no matter how old you are,” she said.
‘Exemplary life’
Acutis, born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, had an ardent faith, though his parents were not particularly devout.
He grew up in the northern city of Milan, where he attended mass daily and had a reputation for kindness to bullied children and homeless people, bringing the latter food and sleeping bags.
A fan of computer games, Acutis taught himself basic coding and used it to document miracles and other elements of the Catholic faith online.
Canonisation is the result of a long and meticulous process, involving an investigation by the Vatican and specialists who assess whether the obligatory two miracles have taken place.
The first miracle attributed to Acutis was the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from a rare pancreatic malformation.
The second was the recovery of a Costa Rican student seriously injured in an accident.
In both cases, relatives had prayed for help from the teenager, who was beatified in 2020 by Pope Francis.
Frassati, who was also raised to sainthood Sunday, was held up by the Church as a model of charity.
An engineering student who made it his mission to serve the poor and sick of his city, he was beatified by John Paul II in 1990.
The Vatican recognised the necessary second miracle to put him on the path to sainthood in 2024, with the unexplained healing of a young American man in a coma.
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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