Carlo Acutis, a London-born teenager, is poised to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint after a second posthumous miracle was attributed to him. Known for spreading Roman Catholic teachings online, Acutis’s beatification in 2020 marked the initial stage towards his upcoming canonisation, approved by Pope Francis following rigorous scrutiny by the Vatican’s Medical Council.
Carlo Acutis, a London-born teenager who died of leukaemia at age 15, is set to become the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint after a second posthumous miracle was attributed to him. Acutis, born in 1991, moved to Milan with his Italian parents and became known for spreading Roman Catholic teachings online. He was proficient in computer programming from a young age and created websites for Catholic organizations, including one that documented global miracles.
Pope Francis recently approved the second miracle necessary for Acutis’s canonization. This miracle involved the recovery of a Costa Rican woman, Valeria Valverde, who had suffered severe brain injuries from a bicycle accident in Florence in 2022. After her mother prayed at Acutis’s tomb in Assisi, Valverde began to recover rapidly, being discharged from intensive care ten days later.
Acutis was beatified in 2020 following the Vatican’s recognition of another miracle—a Brazilian boy’s recovery from a rare pancreatic disorder after contact with one of Acutis’s T-shirts. His beatification marked the first step towards sainthood.
Pope Francis has canonized 912 individuals to date, with Acutis set to be the first from the millennial generation. The Vatican’s Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes rigorously investigates claimed miracles before they aid in the process of canonization, ensuring thorough validation before any public devotion.
Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi expressed joy and planned to celebrate this milestone with a Eucharistic celebration, joining the faithful in prayer at the shrine in Assisi.
