A second miracle was attributed to Acutis. He may now be elevated to sainthood, but the Vatican did not say when that will happen.
Pope Francis has attributed a second miracle to an Italian teenager who in his short life used his computer skills to spread the Catholic faith, paving the way for him to become the first saint of the millennial generation.
Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was known informally as “God's influencer.” Born in London, he grew up in Milan, where he ran his parish's website and later an academy based in the Vatican.
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Francis made the decision during a meeting with the head of the Vatican's sanctification department, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, according to a statement Thursday. Acutis was beatified in 2020 after a miracle was attributed to him.
The attribution of a second miracle means he can now be elevated to sainthood, but the Vatican did not say when that would happen.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that only God performs miracles, but that saints believed to be with God in heaven intercede on behalf of people who pray to them. A miracle is usually the healing of a person, medically inexplicable.
Because of his “important role in evangelization through the Internet,” Acutis was named patron of last year's World Youth Day in Lisbon, event organizers said.
Strong religious devotion
Acutis was born in London on May 3, 1991, to Italian parents and moved to Milan as a child.
From early on he showed a strong religious devotion that surprised his non-practicing parents. His mother told the newspaper Corriere della Sera that from the age of three she asked to visit the churches that passed through Milan, and that at the age of seven she had asked to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, obtaining an exception to the age requirement. usual.
“There was a natural predisposition toward the sacred in him,” his mother said.
Her curiosity prompted her to study theology in order to answer their questions, renewing her own faith.
Acutis was buried in Assisi at his own request, having become an admirer of Saint Francis of Assisi for his dedication to the poor, and currently rests fully exposed in the company of other relics linked to him.
