Carlo Acutis, an Italian teen who designed a website documenting various Eucharistic miracles and led a faithful life before he died at 15 years old, will be canonized, the Vatican announced. Acutis was one of 15 people approved for canonization at an Ordinary Consistory of Cardinals, according to the Vatican News website. Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of the Christian prayer app Hallow, told Fox News Digital, “It’s incredible to hear this news.”
“Blessed Carlo is an incredible inspiration for us at Hallow,” he said. “It can so often feel like the world is going in the wrong direction and that technology is doing more harm than good, but God is still at work.” God, said Jones, “is still raising saints, and He can use everything, including technology, to build up His kingdom.” During his life, Acutis was “welcoming and caring toward the poorest, and he helped the homeless, the needy and immigrants with the money he saved from his weekly allowance,” said Cardinal Marcelo Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, in a short presentation about Acutis’ life.
Upon his canonization, Acutis will be the first canonized Catholic saint to have been born between the years 1981 and 1996 – leading some to nickname him “God’s Influencer.” Born on May 3, 1991, in London, Acutis 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. After his death, his website and legacy lived on — and in 2020, a miracle attributed to his intercession was approved and recognized by the Vatican. He was beatified or given the title “Blessed” in October of that year.
The Vatican’s announcement on Monday marked the final approval needed before Acutis can be given the official title of “Saint Carlo Acutis.” While the Catholic Church acknowledges that all those who are in heaven are saints, a process called “canonization” recognizes those who lived exceptional lives. This process normally begins five years after a person’s death, though that waiting period can be waived. 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.
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.” The Vatican formally approved this second miracle, which was attributed to Acutis’ intercession in May 2024.
The Vatican has not yet announced when the canonization will occur, but the Vatican News reported that it is likely to take place in 2025. The other 14 people approved for canonization included 11 men known as the “Martyrs of Damascus,” who were killed in 1860. Others include an Italian priest who founded a religious congregation, an Italian nun who founded a religious order, and a Canadian nun who founded a religious order.