Although the timeline is not certain, the groundwork is now laid for a new saint. This will be the first of the millennial generation. On Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Vatican announced that a second miracle had been attributed to Carlo Acutis. This makes him officially eligible for sainthood.
Carlo is sometimes known as “God’s Influencer” because of the way he helped spread the message of the Catholic church through the internet. He established a database of Eucharistic miracles throughout the world and put it online. He died in 2006 from leukemia at age 15.
Carlo was born in London in 1991 but raised in Italy. His parents were not religious but even from a young age he could not pass a church without going inside to say hello to Jesus. He was passionate about the Eucharist.
He would often say “the Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!” He attended Mass daily even when traveling. “If we get in front of the sun, we get sun tans, but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become Saints,” he advised.
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Carlo was a computer genius and used these skills to glorify God. Beyond his Eucharist database, he also ran his parish’s website. He thought if people understood the Eucharist, they would turn to God. Carlo always somehow knew he would die young. “Carlo always had a sense that he couldn’t waste time,” his mother stated.
In 2020 he was beatified. This is the first step of becoming a saint. His first miracle was healing a Brazilian child. The child had birth defects in their pancreas.
On May 23, Pope Francis met with Cardinal Marcello Semararo, the leader of the Vatican's saint-making department. It was during this meeting that the second miracle was declared. Carlo healed a university student’s brain bleed.
Carlo’s body now rests in Assisi, Italy. He is displayed with relics that are attributed to his life and work. Beyond Carlo, six other men and one woman were also advanced for sainthood.
