Pope Leo will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sunday, Sept. 7, the first such ceremony of his tenure and the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, elevating him to the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi.
Carlo, a British-born Italian who died from leukemia in 2006 at age 15, had been set to be canonized April 27 during the Jubilee of Adolescents. The ceremony was postponed after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
Carlo, sometimes referred to as “God’s influencer,” learned several computer coding languages before his death and built websites to spread his faith.
What are the steps to the canonization of a saint?
Sainthood indicates that the church believes the person is in heaven with God.
Sainthood causes are examined by a Vatican department that must confirm that the person lived a holy life. It usually also involves the verification of two miracles attributed to the future saint’s intercession with God in heaven.
What were the miracles attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis?
In 2020, the church recognized his first miracle, involving a 4-year-old Brazilian boy who was determined to be healed from a serious pancreatic birth defect. After the boy’s mother prayed to Carlo in 2013, her son experienced a sudden and complete recovery.
In May 2024, a second miracle was announced, this time involving a woman from Costa Rica. In 2022, she prayed at Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, Italy, after her daughter suffered severe head trauma from a bicycle accident. Doctors had informed the mother that her daughter was unlikely to survive.
In her pilgrimage to Carlo’s tomb, the mother left a note. On the same day, her daughter began to breathe spontaneously. The next day, she started to move and regained some of her speech. Ten days later, a CAT scan showed her brain hemorrhage had disappeared.
Who was Blessed Carlo Acutis?
Born in 1991, Carlo used his technological skills to evangelize and stood out for his joyful faith and compassion for others. He developed websites for his parish and the wider Catholic Church.
Carlo’s beatification took place in October 2020, when Pope Francis declared the teen had attained the blessedness of heaven, and he was given the title of “Blessed.”
His mother, Antonia Salzano, told Reuters in April that the heart of her son’s appeal was that he lived the same life as others who were teenagers in the 2000s.
“Carlo was an ordinary child like (others),” she said. “He used to play, to have friends, and to go to school. But his extraordinary quality was the fact that he opened the door of his heart to Jesus and put Jesus in first place in his life.”
How many canonizations have been declared in recent years?
Pope Leo XIV will preside over his first canonization Mass on Sept. 7, declaring the sainthood of two young Italians.
Seven more Blessed will be canonized on Oct. 19 for World Mission Sunday, according to Vatican News.
How many popes have been declared saints?When is the canonization ceremony?
Carlo’s canonization is set for Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Access to St. Peter’s Square opens at 8 a.m., and no tickets or reservations are required for the general public, according to the Vatican.
The pontiff also will canonize Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian known for helping those in need. Frassati was born April 6, 1901, in Turin and died there July 4, 1925, of polio at age of 24.
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; Catholic Education Resource Center; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops