Pope Francis paves way for canonization of Carlo Acutis, first millennial saint

Pope Francis issued a decree on Thursday announcing the recognition of a miracle attributed to Bl. Carlo Acutis — clearing the way for the Italian teenager's canonization in the near future. 

Pope Francis, along with Cardinal Marcello Semaro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, announced the recognition of the miracle along with news that three others will be deliberated for canonization. 

"Many Catholics around the world are overjoyed at the news that Carlo Acutis will be declared a saint," Courtney Mares, Vatican journalist and author of the book "Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers," told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

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Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London, was a devout Catholic who created a website to document Eucharistic miracles, Fox News Digital previously reported. He died on Oct. 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy, shortly after a leukemia diagnosis. He was 15. 

After his death, his website and legacy lived on — and in 2013 a miracle attributed to his intercession was approved and recognized by the Vatican. He was beatified, or given the title "Blessed," in Oct. 2020. 

Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager who died of leukemia in 2006, is set to be the first millennial to be canonized in the Catholic Church.  (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

With the second recognized miracle, Pope Francis now will convene a consistory of cardinals who will deliberate his canonization.

Upon his canonization, "Carlo will become the first millennial saint in the Catholic Church. The computer-programming Italian teen is beloved by many for his joyful witness to holiness in our digital age," Mares, the Vatican journalist, also said to Fox News Digital. 

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Acutis' life provides Christians with "a concrete example of what sanctity can look like in the 21st century," she said. 

"By rooting his life in prayer and the sacraments, Carlo was able to approach technology in a healthy way," she also said, noting that Acutis was a daily Mass attendee even as a child. 

Acutis, just 15 years old when he passed away, was beaitified and given the title "blessed" in 2020.  (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

"Carlo wanted as many people as possible to know about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He was convinced that the scientific evidence from Eucharistic miracles could help people to realize that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist and come back to Mass," she said. 

Katie McGrady, author, podcaster and host of "The Katie McGrady Show" on Sirius XM’s The Catholic Channel, expressed a similar sentiment about Acutis. 

"Bl. Carlo has been a dear ‘heavenly’ friend for so long," she told Fox News Digital via text. 

"His desire to evangelize with the internet and share his faith with whatever means available is such an encouragement," she said. 

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As Acutis lived so recently, McGrady said she finds "such joy" in knowing that he "would've watched some of the same TV shows I did as a kid, would've had similar pop culture experiences with Pokémon and Nintendo, and that he loved his faith in the midst of growing up in the '90s and 2000s." 

"The world needs the witness of this millennial saint."

McGrady added, "The world needs the witness of this millennial saint. What a gift!" 

While the Catholic Church acknowledges that all those who are in heaven are saints, a process called "canonization" recognizes those who lived exceptional lives. 

Pope Francis is shown speaking at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, on Oct. 18, 2023. The Vatican has to approve of a miracle attributed to the intercession of the potential saint. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

This process normally begins five years after a person's death. 

Once the person has been approved by the Vatican and declared to have lived a holy life, the person is declared "venerable," according to the Vatican's website.

Afterward, the Vatican has to approve of a miracle attributed to the intercession of the potential saint.

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Purported miracles can be submitted for investigation to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the organization that determines the legitimacy of these claims. After one miracle is approved, a person can be "beatified." 

The second approved miracle means the person can be canonized and given the title "saint." 

This latest miracle attributed to Acutis involved the healing of a young woman from Costa Rica who suffered a serious head injury in a bike accident. 

A large crowd gathered during Acutis' beatification Mass in 2020. A second miracle attributed to the late teen's intercession was recently recognized by the Vatican.  (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

"On July 8, 2022, Liliana [the girl's mother] prayed at Blessed Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, leaving a letter describing her plea. Six days earlier, on July 2, her daughter Valeria had fallen from her bicycle in Florence, where she was attending university," said Vatican News.

The girl suffered "severe head trauma" in the accident, said Vatican News; doctors had to remove part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. They were not optimistic that she would survive. 

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Liliana's secretary, who was devoted to Acutis, began praying for his intercession, said Vatican News. The day after she visited his tomb, the injured girl began to breathe on her own — and her recovery continued at a rapid, inexplicable pace.

The girl made a full recovery and required only a week of rehabilitation.

"On July 18, a CAT scan proved that her hemorrhaging had disappeared, and on Aug. 11 Valeria was moved to rehabilitation therapy," said Vatican News. 

She made a full recovery and required only a week of rehabilitation.

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She herself made a pilgrimage to Acutis' tomb on Sept. 2, said Vatican News. 

While no date has been announced for when Acutis will be canonized, it could be as early as the anniversary of his death this October.

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