For centuries, pilgrims came to Assisi to walk in the footsteps of a saint who preached to birds, embraced poverty and wandered the hills barefoot.  But today, many arrive in search of a different model of holiness: that of a teenager in Nike sneakers who built websites and coded for Christ.

"I came to Assisi for Carlo," said Anne-Sophie, a mother of three from France, speaking outside the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi, where the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis draws a steady stream of visitors. "Not only Carlo, but St. Francis, of course," she added April 1, mentioning the town's patron saint almost as an afterthought.