VATICAN CITY. The Vatican announced on Monday, July 1, that Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager renowned for his devout faith and technological contributions, will be canonized, making him the first millennial Catholic saint. Acutis, who died at the age of 15, designed a website documenting various Eucharistic miracles and lived a life of service and faith.
Acutis was among 15 individuals approved for canonization during an Ordinary Consistory of Cardinals, as reported by Vatican News. “It’s incredible to hear this news,” said Alex Jones, CEO and co-founder of the Christian prayer app Hallow, in a text message to Fox News Digital. “Blessed Carlo is an incredible inspiration for us at Hallow. 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.”
Jones added, “God is still raising saints, and He can use everything, including technology, to build up His kingdom.”
Cardinal Marcelo Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, praised Acutis for his compassion and service to the needy, stating, “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.”
Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London, was a devout Catholic who used his tech skills to create a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles. He passed away on October 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy, shortly after being diagnosed with leukemia. His website and legacy continued to inspire many, leading to his beatification in October 2020 after a miracle attributed to his intercession was recognized by the Vatican.
With the recent approval of a second miracle in May 2024, Acutis is set to be canonized as “Saint Carlo Acutis.” While the Catholic Church recognizes all souls in heaven as saints, the process of canonization is a formal declaration of a person’s exceptional holiness. This process involves several stages, including being declared “venerable” and “blessed” before achieving sainthood after two approved miracles.
Courtney Mares, a Vatican-based journalist and author of “Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers,” expressed excitement over Acutis’s upcoming canonization, stating, “It is very exciting that Carlo Acutis will likely be canonized as a saint during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year. With 35 million people expected to travel to Rome for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee, we can expect big crowds for Acutis’s canonization ceremony, with many young people and tech geeks of all ages flocking to Rome for the historic event.”
The Vatican has not yet announced the exact date for the canonization, but it is anticipated to occur in 2025 during the Church’s Jubilee Year.
The other 14 individuals approved for canonization include 11 men known as the “Martyrs of Damascus,” who were killed in 1860, 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.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
