Carlo Acutis

Re-Scheduled date to CANONISE from April 2025 due to ‘Sede Vacante'(The See is vacant).
NOW SCHEDULED TO SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 BY POPE LEO XIV.
Feast Day: October 12

News Dated: 13 June 2025

By Salvatore Cernuzio and Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV held the first Ordinary Public Consistory of his pontificate on Friday morning, with Cardinals giving their formal approval for the canonizations of eight Blesseds.

During the ceremony, the Holy Father announced that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized together on 7 September.

The canonizations of the two young saints—one from the early twentieth century, the other the first twenty-first-century saint—have been greatly anticipated due to the great devotion among the faithful.

-Courtesy: ‘Vatican News’., Dated: 13 June 2025, 10:55

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Who Was Carlo Acutis?

Carlo Acutis was born on May 3, 1991, in London, to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano. From a young age, Carlo displayed a profound love for God and the Church that inspired his parents. “Before Carlo’s birth, I was really caught up in the culture of our time,” his mother says. “I was a prisoner of everything that is relative and limited.” But “Carlo showed me how to live in my century while turning toward eternity.” His family later moved to Milan, Italy, where Carlo’s passion for computer programming blossomed alongside his deepening faith. Acutis is currently a blessed and on his way to canonization.

When Is the Canonization for Carlo Acutis?

Carlo Acutis will be canonized on April 25–27, 2025. Acutis, known for his deep devotion to the Catholic faith and his adept use of technology to share religious content, is set to become the first millennial saint. Pope Francis has officially recognized a second miracle attributed to Acutis and approved his canonization. Acutis, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 15 due to leukemia, has been admired for his work in creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles worldwide. His beatification took place in October 2020, and the recent recognition of a second miracle—an essential step in the process—marks the final phase towards sainthood. Acutis is celebrated not only for his piety but also for his ability to integrate his faith with modern technology, resonating deeply with young Catholics around the globe.

What Is Carlo Acutis Known For?

Carlo’s life was characterized by a remarkable integration of faith and reason. Despite his young age, he exhibited an exceptional intellect and a keen interest in understanding the mysteries of technology and Catholicism. He spent many hours honing his skills as a computer programmer while remaining committed to prayer and devotion.

At the age of seven, Carlo began participating in daily Mass and developed a deep love for the Eucharist. “My secret is to contact Jesus every day,” he said. He also prayed the rosary often, demonstrating his profound devotion to Jesus’ Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary: “The Virgin Mary is the only woman in my life.”

What Were Carlo Acutis’ Contributions to the Catholic Church?

One of Carlo’s most significant contributions to the Church was the creation of both a portable exhibition and a related website cataloging Eucharistic miracles from around the world. He was able to catalog 187 Eucharistic miracles during a period of two-and-a-half years. Through his expertise in computer programming, Carlo sought to share the profound reality of the Real Presence with others, inviting them to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist. “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven,” Carlo often said. “When we face the sun we get a tan… but when we stand before Jesus in the Eucharist we become saints.”

Despite his untimely death at the age of fifteen from leukemia in October 2006, Carlo’s legacy endures as a testament to the power of holiness in the digital age. His impact on the Church and the world continues to inspire countless individuals, particularly young people and computer programmers.

Legacy and Influence of Carlo Acutis

In rejoicing at Carlo’s beatification in October 2020, Pope Francis affirmed his exemplary life of holiness and virtue. His beatification was a moment of great joy for the Church, recognizing the sanctity of a young man who embraced the challenges of his time with courage and faith.

What Did the Pope Say About Carlo Acutis?

His witness shows today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God first and serving him in our brothers, especially the least.” —Pope Francis (Angelus address Oct. 11, 2020)

How Did Carlo Acutis Inspire Others Through His Life and Actions?

Today, Blessed Carlo Acutis serves as a model for young people seeking to navigate the complexities of the digital world while remaining faithful to the Gospel. His life reminds us that holiness is attainable for all who seek to follow Christ faithfully, regardless of age or vocation.

Carlo’s example challenges young Catholics to use their talents for the glory of God and the spread of the Gospel. His integration of faith and technology serves as a powerful reminder of the potential for technology to be a force for good in the world, particularly in spreading the message of Christ’s love and mercy.

Miracles Attributed to Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis’s life was marked not only by his exemplary faith and devotion but also by miraculous occurrences that have been attributed to his intercession after his death. One notable miracle associated with Carlo involves the inexplicable healing of a young Brazilian boy named Mattheus, who was suffering from a rare pancreatic disorder.

Mattheus’s condition was grave, and doctors had exhausted all medical options. His mother, a devout Catholic, turned to prayer and sought the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis. After she fervently prayed to Carlo for his intercession, Mattheus experienced a sudden and complete healing, much to the amazement of his doctors.

A Miraculous Intercession: The Healing of Mattheus Vianna

This healing was thoroughly investigated by Church authorities and determined medically inexplicable, fulfilling the rigorous criteria for a miracle required in the Church’s canonization process.

The miraculous healing of Mattheus Vianna stands as a testament to the intercessory power of Blessed Carlo Acutis and serves as a reminder of God’s boundless love and mercy. It is through such miracles that Carlo continues to inspire and touch the lives of believers around the world, offering hope and encouragement to those in need.

Healing of Valeria Valverde

On July 8, 2022, a Costa Rican mother named Liliana Valverde visited the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis in Assisi, fervently praying for her daughter Valeria, who had suffered severe head trauma from a bicycle accident on July 2. Valeria’s condition was dire, requiring emergency surgery with little hope for survival. Liliana’s secretary immediately began praying to Blessed Carlo, and Liliana’s pilgrimage followed.

Remarkably, on the very day of her visit, Valeria began breathing on her own, regaining movement and speech shortly after. By July 18, a CAT scan revealed her hemorrhage had vanished, and she was transferred to rehabilitation by August 11. Grateful for this miracle, Liliana and Valeria returned to Assisi on September 2 to thank Blessed Carlo.

What lessons can we learn from Carlo Acutis’s life?

As Blessed Carlo once said, “I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.” These words encapsulate the essence of Carlo’s life—a life lived in complete abandonment to God’s will, where every moment was dedicated to glorifying Him.

Through his exemplary life and actions, Blessed Carlo Acutis challenges us to examine our own lives and strive for holiness in all that we do. May his legacy continue to inspire us to live lives of virtue, devotion, and service to others, as we seek to follow Christ faithfully in the footsteps of this modern-day saint. “Sadness is looking at ourselves, happiness is looking towards God,” Carlo would say. “The only thing we have to ask God for, in prayer, is the desire to be holy.”  

-TheBee

GOD BLESS

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Pope Francis clears
path for canonization of
Blessed Carlo Acutis

.

Pope Francis recognizes a miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis and another to Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, and approves the canonization of 11 martyrs in Syria.  For young Catholics, the most interesting is surely the recognition of a miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis.

The young layman was born on May 3, 1991, in London, England, and died on October 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy, succumbing to leukemia at the age of 15.  Pope Francis beatified the millenial in 2020 in Assisi, where Blessed Carlo had made multiple pilgrimages and where his mortal remains rest.

Miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis recognized on Thursday is related to a woman from Costa Rica.  On July 8, 2022, Liliana 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.  She had suffered severe head trauma, and required craniotomy surgery and the removal of the right occipital bone to reduce pressure on her brain, with what her doctors said was a very low chance of survival.  Liliana’s secretary began praying immediately to Blessed Carlo Acutis, and on July 8, Liliana made her pilgrimage to his tomb in Assisi.  That same day, the hospital informed her that Valeria had begun to breath spontaneously. The next day, she began to move and partially regain her speech.  On July 18, a CAT scan proved that her hemorrhage had disappeared, and on August 11, Valeria was moved to rehabilitation therapy. She made quick progress, and on September 2, Valeria and Liliana made another pilgrimage to Assisi to thank Blessed Carlo for his intercession.

In the decree released on Thursday, Pope Francis announced he will convene a Consistory of Cardinals to deliberate the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, as well as Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, Marie-Léonie Paradis, and Elena Guerra.

The decrees also recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Giuseppe Allamano (1851-1926), an Italian-born priest who founded the Consolata Missionaries.  The miracle regarded the healing of an indigenous man in Cape Verde named Sorino Yanomami, who was attacked by a jaguar on February 7, 1996, in the Amazonian forest.  Even though his brain was left partially exposed, Sorino survived the ordeal thanks to surgery in Boa Vista and the intercession of Blessed Allamano after several members of his congregation prayed a novena for Sorino.

Pope Francis also recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Giovanni Merlini (1795-1873), an Italian-born priest of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood.  The Pope recognized the martyrdom of a Polish priest—Servant of God Stanislav Kostka Streich (1902-1938)—and a Hungarian-born laywoman—Servant of God Mária Magdolna Bódi (1921-1945)—both of whom were killed in hatred of the faith by communists.

The decrees also recognized the heroic virtues of the Servants of God Guglielmo Gattiani (Italian Capuchin priest, 1914-1999), Ismaele Molinero Novillo (Spanish layman, 1917-1938), and Ismaele Molinero Novillo (Italian layman, 1911-1974).  The Pope approved the “favorable votes of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops for the canonization of Blessed Emanuele Ruiz and 7 Companions, of the Order of Friars Minor, and Francesco, Abdel Mooti, and Raffaele Massabki, Lay Faithful, killed in hatred of the Faith in Damascus (Syria) between July 9 and 10, 1860.”

–Courtesy: Devin Watkins, Vatican News.

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Major Announcement:  

Bl. Carlo Acutis supposed to be  CANONISED on April 27, 2025 at the Jubilee of Teenagers.
Since the See is vacant the ceremony will take place later.
Note April 27 is Divine Mercy Sunday.

Bl. Carlo Acutis’ Feast Day: October 12.

 “To always be close to JESUS, that’s my life plan.” -Bl. Carlo Acutis

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Related stories: –

AJNA GEORGE
(India’s ‘Carlo Acutis’ )

Like Blessed Carlo, Ajna had set apart her life for “devotion to the Holy Eucharist from a very early age”

A 27-year-old woman who died fighting cancer is emerging as a possible saint from India, with people seeking her intercession for wayward youth.

Ajna George, a member of the Jesus Youth movement and an assistant professor, died January 21 in Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, southern India.

At the funeral on January 22, Father Jean Felix Kattassery, Ajna’s spiritual director for nearly two decades, compared her to Carlo Acutis, an English-born Italian who died of blood cancer October 12, 2006, and was beatified 14 years later.

Father Kattassery, parish priest of St Patrick’s Church, Vyttila, under the archdiocese of Verapoly, said like Blessed Carlo, Ajna had set apart her life for “devotion to the Holy Eucharist from a very early age, forbearing acceptance and offering of the excruciating pains of cancer for the glory of God, embracing the Eucharistic Lord with a smile even as death drew close.”

She was a former coordinator of Jesus Youth in Sacred Heart College at Thevara, a Kochi suburb. She was part of the Ernakulam Teens’ Team and the All Kerala Music Central Team, says the Jesus Youth’s Facebook page.

“An inspiring life… and death. Oh holy Ajna, pray for us,” writes Bella Rajan, headmistress of St Gabriel School, Ranjhi near Jabalpur in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, in the Jesus Youth Facebook page.

Don Bosco Father Jose Koonananickal, who is in Andhra Pradesh’s Peddaboddepalli, writes, “Wonderful heroic life. May the Good Lord take her home to heaven. May she enjoy rest and happiness with God.”

Dora Lobo, another Facebook subscriber, exclaims: “How holy to welcome such suffering, in spite of youth. May she pray for all wayward youth. RIP holy one.”

-Courtesy: Matters India

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Related Stories: 

A new generation of saints?
6 millennials on the road to canonization

Dated: 5^th September 2025.

Six young people who lived with deep faith and committed their lives to the Church that Jesus founded are on their way to being proclaimed saints, with most of them currently on the path to beatification. 

From Carlo Acutis, the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” to Akash Bashir,  Pakistan’s first servant of God who gave his life protecting the faithful from a suicide bomber, these witnesses challenge the idea that holiness is simply a thing of the past.

Below is a brief sketch of these young millennials — those born between 1981 and 1996 — who followed Jesus with all their hearts and today are a source of inspiration to new generations.

1. Pierangelo Capuzzimati 

The Servant of God Pierangelo Capuzzimati was a young Italian who from the age of 14 suffered from leukemia but lived with strong faith and a deep trust in God. He was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1990 and grew up in a peaceful environment with his family in Faggiano.

His illness, far from plunging him into despair, led him to intensify his spiritual life, devoting his time to prayer, study, and contemplation of the beauty of creation.

An admirer of the thought of the saints and with a great passion for the history of the Church, his testimony of serenity and dedication left an indelible mark on those who knew him. He died on April 30, 2008, at the age of 17 with the conviction that his suffering was a gift from the Lord.

On April 26, 2018, the Holy See granted the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”) for the opening of his cause for beatification, and on Jan. 20, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process concluded after an exhaustive collection of testimonies and documents about his life and virtues.

All the documentation will now be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where it will be evaluated by theologians and historians. If his heroic virtues are recognized, Capuzzimati will be declared venerable, which will mark a new step on his path to sainthood.

2. Sister Clare Crockett

Sister Clare Crockett was a young woman who left a promising career in movies and television to dedicate herself to God as a religious in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.

Clare was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1982 and although she seemed to be heading toward a life in the arts, an encounter with Christ during a retreat changed her destiny. She felt God’s call, entering the congregation in 2001, and took her perpetual vows in 2010. Her life was marked by a joyful spirit, a total dedication to others, and a testimony of faith that impacted many. She died on April 16, 2016, during an earthquake in Ecuador while helping her students at a community school in Playa Prieta.

Following the 2023 granting of the “nihil obstat” by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the diocesan phase of the cause for her beatification was officially opened on Jan. 12, 2025, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Since her passing, there have been numerous testimonies reporting graces and conversions attributed to her intercession, including religious vocations and possible miracles. The ecclesiastical tribunal is now investigating her life and heroic virtues, a key step on the path to her possible beatification.

3. Matteo Farina

Matteo Farina was a young Italian born in 1990 in Brindisi. Inspired from a very young age by St. Francis and St. Padre Pio, he developed an intense spiritual life with a great devotion for the Eucharist and for praying a daily rosary. From the age of 9, he felt the call to evangelize, seeking to influence his peers. At age 13, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which did not weaken his faith but strengthened it. During the six years that his illness lasted, he accepted suffering with love, offering his pain for others and living with joy and hope until his death on April 24, 2009.

The witness of his holiness led the Church to initiate his cause for beatification. On May 5, 2020, Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues, declaring him venerable. Currently, the Church is investigating possible miracles attributed to his intercession, which would allow the process of beatification to advance.

4. Helena Agnieszka Kmieć

Helena Agnieszka Kmiec was a young Polish missionary born in 1991 in Krakow and raised in a home of deep faith. From a young age, she showed a strong love for Jesus, attending Mass almost daily and devoting herself to service. During her university studies at the Silesia University of Technology, she joined the Salvator Missionary Volunteer Service, serving in missions in Hungary, Zambia, and Romania. She especially dedicated herself to children and young people in vulnerable situations.  In 2017, Helena traveled to Bolivia to help out at a school in Cochabamba, where, just a few weeks after her arrival, she was murdered during an attempted robbery.

After her death, her reputation for holiness became more well known, inspired by her life of dedication to God and her missionary service. In April 2024, the archbishop of Krakow announced the opening of her cause for beatification after receiving approval from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Currently, the Church is investigating her life and witness in the process that could lead to her being declared blessed.

5. Akash Bashir

Akash Bashir was a young Pakistani and former Salesian student who gave his life to protect hundreds of faithful at St. John’s Church in Lahore.  On March 15, 2015, when he was just 20 years old, he prevented a suicide bomber from entering the church during Sunday Mass, holding him tightly and saying: “I will die, but I will not let you into the church.” The attacker detonated the bomb and both died.  Bashir’s sacrifice prevented a massacre and his unwavering faith has made him a symbol of hope for the Christian community in Pakistan — a country where the faithful suffer constant persecution.

On Jan. 31, 2022, Pope Francis proclaimed him a servant of God. Two years later, on March 15, 2024, the diocesan phase of the process was concluded at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. All the documentation has now been sent to the Vatican for evaluation. If the pope approves the decree of martyrdom, Bashir will be beatified without the need for a miracle. If this recognition occurs, he would become Pakistan’s first “blessed.”

6. Carlo Acutis 

Carlo Acutis was a young Italian born in 1991 who, despite his short life, left a profound legacy of love for the Eucharist. Known as the “cyber apostle of the Eucharist,” Carlo used his computer skills to evangelize, creating a digital exhibit of Eucharistic miracles.   From childhood, Carlo showed a special devotion to the Mass as well as praying the rosary. When he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, he offered his sufferings “for the Lord, the pope, and the Church.” He died on October 12 of that same year and was buried in Assisi, following his desire to be close to St. Francis.

His path to sainthood progressed quickly. He was declared venerable in 2018 and blessed in 2020 after the approval of a first miracle.

On May 23, 2024, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle, which occurred in Florence, where a young Costa Rican woman miraculously recovered from a serious accident. Carlo was scheduled to be canonized during the Jubilee of Teenagers in April, becoming the first millennial saint and a model of holiness for young people in the digital age.  However, now his canonization is rescheduled due to the ‘sede vacante’, The Canonization will take place by Pope Leo IV on the 7^th September 2025.  May God Be Praised.

(ACI Prensa, dated: Feb 15, 2025.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
It has been translated and adapted by CNA.)

-TheBee