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, clearing the way for him to become the first saint of the millennial generation.
Carlo Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006 aged 15, was informally known as “God’s influencer.” Born in London, he grew up in Milan where he took care of his parish website and later of a Vatican-based academy.
Francis took the decision during a meeting with the head of the Vatican’s saint-making department, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, a statement said on Thursday.
Acutis was beatified in 2020 after one 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 this would happen.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that only God performs miracles, but that saints who are believed to be with God in heaven intercede on behalf of people who pray to them. A miracle is usually the medically inexplicable healing of a person.
Due to his “important role in evangelization through the internet”, Acutis was named as a patron of last year’s World Youth Day in Lisbon, organisers of the event said.
The miracle 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 breathe spontaneously. The next day, she began to move and partially regained 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.
Carlo Acutis