Boy Scout Troop 87 of Kellenberg Memorial High School honored Saint Carlo Acutis at the school in Uniondale this week.
Saint Carlo was a teenager from Italy, who used his website and blog to spread Catholic teachings.
He died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
“We immediately started to share that story with our young people and it resonated with them so well. They can relate to him. He’s in sneakers and jeans," said Father Daniel Griffin, assistant principal for mission and chaplain at Kellenberg Memorial High School.
Father Griffin attended the canonization at Saint Peter’s Square.
“I love Saint Carlo Acutis. I visited his tomb twice,” said Nicolas Castelli, a religion teacher at Kellenberg High School.
Saint Carlo is the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint.
“He had heroic virtue, a young man living in the digital age. He knew how to navigate the complexity of this world and our students, our scouts are dealing with the same complexity,” added Castelli.
The saint’s website documented Eucharistic miracles from around the world and the content was on display Friday night, as well as a film about teens on a pilgrimage to visit the saint's tomb.
The saint’s presence is everywhere in the school, from a new tech center to the hallways, but especially in the minds of the students like senior, Robert De Tullio, who pilgrimaged to his tomb over the summer.
“I think what was most striking about it was that when we were on the line to go see Blessed Carlo Acutis at the time, there were so many cultures on the line, there was singing. The energy, it was amazing," he said.