Vatican paves way for first millennial saint after pope attributes second miracle
Pope Francis attributed a miracle to a devout Italian teenager who died of leukemia in 2006, making it possible for him to become the first millennial saint of the Catholic Church, the Vatican announced Thursday.
Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia at age 15 in 2006, was born May 3, 1991, in London before moving with his parents to Milan months later. Though he was not raised as particularly devout, he began to take an early interest in the Catholic faith, especially the rosary, as noted by the Catholic News Agency (CNA).
After his confirmation, Carlo began attending Mass regularly near his elementary school at age 7, and his devotion ultimately led to the conversion of his mother, Antonia Salzano, who rejoined the Catholic Church after her son inspired her.
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Carlo "managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day," according to the postulator promoting his sainthood. "It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily."
Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia when he was a teenager and died on Oct. 12, 2006.
He became known among Catholics as the patron saint of the internet because of his aptitude with computers, a skill he used to witness to others, according to The New York Times.
Carlo, who also enjoyed playing video games and soccer, taught himself complex computer coding skills and used them months before he died to create a website that archived reported Eucharistic miracles.
After Carlo was beatified by the Church in October 2020, his mother told the Times that her son "was the light answer to the dark side of the web."
Noting how some described him as an "influencer for God," she added that she hopes his short life "can be used to show how the internet can be used for good, to spread good things." She claimed to the Times that she has heard from many people around the world who experienced inexplicable medical miracles after praying to her son.
"I offer all of my suffering to the Lord for the pope and for the Church in order not to go to purgatory but to go straight to Heaven," Acutis reportedly said before his death, referring to then-Pope Benedict XVI.
Carlos was first beatified after the Vatican attributed a miracle to him regarding a 3-year-old boy in Brazil who was reportedly healed of a congenital pancreatic deformity in 2013.
According to the Vatican, the second miracle attributed to Carlo involved Liliana, a woman from Costa Rica who, after praying for his intercession in 2022, claimed her daughter survived a risky craniotomy surgery after experiencing head trauma from falling off her bicycle.
Liliana also made a pilgrimage to Carlos' tomb in Assisi, where she prayed to him for her daughter's recovery on the same day that she began to "breathe spontaneously," according to the Vatican. Subsequent CAT scans reportedly showed that the hemorrhage in her daughter's brain disappeared.
Carlos' body, which is dressed in jeans and Nike sneakers, lies in a glass tomb in Assisi, where pilgrims flock to see it. Amid claims that his body had not decayed, the bishop of Assisi clarified that his body had seen corruption, according to CNA.
A date has yet to be determined for the canonization of Carlo Acutis, though it could occur as early as October.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
