Pope Leo announced Friday that Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager who died of leukemia in 2006, will be canonized as the Catholic Church's first millennial saint on September 7. The ceremony will also canonize Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian recognized for helping those in need who died of polio in the 1920s.
The announcement came during a gathering with cardinals at the Vatican, marking a new date for a canonization originally scheduled for April 27 but postponed following Pope Francis's death on April 21. According to Reuters, Pope Leo did not specify the location of the ceremony, though such events typically occur in St. Peter's Square.
Acutis, born in London to Italian parents in 1991, became known as "God's influencer" for his remarkable integration of technology and Catholic faith12. Before his death, he mastered several programming languages and created websites to promote his faith, most notably cataloging 187 Eucharistic miracles from around the world2.
"Carlo was an ordinary child like others," his mother Antonia Salzano told Reuters in April. "He played, had friends, and attended school. However, his remarkable trait was that he opened his heart to Jesus and prioritized Him in his life"1.
The teenager developed a profound devotion to the Eucharist, attending daily Mass from age seven and often saying, "The Eucharist is the highway to heaven"2.
The Vatican approved Acutis's canonization after recognizing two miracles attributed to his intercession1. The first involved a 4-year-old Brazilian boy with a severe pancreatic malformation, while the second concerned 21-year-old Costa Rican Valeria Valverde, who survived a serious bicycle accident that left her with severe head trauma21.
According to Vatican News, Valverde's mother Liliana prayed at Acutis's tomb in Assisi on July 8, 2022, and that same day hospital staff informed her that her daughter had begun breathing spontaneously1.
Acutis was declared venerable in 2018 and beatified in 20203. His canonization is expected to attract tens of thousands of young Catholics to Rome2.
Francine Costantini, diocesan director for youth ministry in Cleveland, told the Diocese of Cleveland that Acutis's canonization "tells our teens that holiness is possible" and that "sainthood is not just for people from long ago"4.