The Pope recently approved decrees regarding the canonization of several men and women, the most interesting being that of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Catholic who died in 2006 of leukemia. Acutis was born in London, England but spent most of his time in Italy. The Pope beatified him in 2020 in Assisi, where Acutis’s remains were laid to rest. The current decree recognized a second miracle by Acutis. A second miracle is the final step that could lead to canonization for Acutis, potentially making him the first millennial to be canonized by the church.

Acutis came to the Catholic faith through the influence of his Polish nanny. He began attending mass regularly at 7. His parents were not religious, but his mother did eventually rejoin the church, inspired by her son’s faith. According to the postulator who recommended Acutis for sainthood, Acutis “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. 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.” His Hindu au pair even converted due to Acutis’s faith.

During his life, he set up a website to document miracles and spread awareness of the Catholic faith through technology. Prior to his death in 2006, he declared, “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.” He was beatified (called blessed) after his first miracle was attributed to him. In 2020, he reportedly healed a boy born with a birth defect that left him unable to eat food. The second miracle attributed to Acutis occurred on July 8, 2022. A woman from Costa Rica named Liliana came to Acutis’s tomb after her daughter Valeria fell from her bike, suffering severe head trauma that required a craniotomy. Doctors gave her a low chance of survival, bringing Liliana to Acutis to intercede on her behalf while her secretary prayed to Acutis. That very day, doctors reported that Valeria had begun to breathe on her own. By August 11, Valeria was moved to the rehabilitation floor and on September 2, both Valeria and Liliana went to Acutis’s tomb to thank him. The Pope announced that he would convene a Consistory of Cardinals, which meets to deliberate the canonization of saints. Canonization could be as early as October.