Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonised by Pope Francis on Divine Mercy Sunday, 27th April 2025, during the Jubilee of the Teens—a significant moment for young Catholics across the world. Carlo will become the first millennial saint, offering a relatable and inspiring model of holiness for today’s generation.
On 23rd May 2024, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints confirmed that a second miracle has been officially recognised through Carlo’s intercession, paving the way for his canonisation.
The miracle involved the healing of a 21-year-old woman from Costa Rica, who was studying in Florence, Italy. On 2nd July 2022, she suffered a severe brain injury after falling from her bicycle. She underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, but doctors considered her condition critical.
While she remained in intensive care, a co-worker of her mother began praying to Blessed Carlo. On 8th July, her mother travelled to Assisi to pray at Carlo’s tomb. That same day, her daughter began breathing on her own. Within 10 days, she was discharged from ICU. Just a week later, she left rehabilitation following a complete and unexpected recovery.
A Modern Saint in Trainers and a Hoodie
Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Carlo Acutis lived a recognisably modern life. He enjoyed football, loved video games, and had a fun-loving personality. But from a young age, he also displayed a deep and authentic faith. He went to daily Mass, prayed the Rosary, and looked out for those who were poor, lonely, or on the margins.
Carlo had a talent for computers and used his skills to build a website documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the world—an “encyclopaedia” he hoped would help people grow in love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He often said, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”
In 2006, Carlo was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia. He offered his suffering for the Pope and the Church, and died just days later, at the age of 15. He was beatified in 2020, and now lies in Assisi, wearing the clothes he wore in everyday life—a hoodie, jeans, and trainers—making visible the truth that sainthood is possible in the ordinary lives we live today.
A Saint Who Looks Like Us
Reflecting on Carlo’s powerful witness, Bishop David Oakley recently said:
“I think we have this image of saints that, well, they’re incredibly special people, so they’re nothing like me. They don’t dress like me, they don’t look like me. And it’s worth having a look at Carlo Acutis closely because he is a model of modern day sanctity. And I think we do a kind of trick inside ourselves which is to put sanctity at an arm’s length distance, thinking, well, I can’t be a saint.”
Blessed Carlo’s canonisation invites us all—especially young people—to rediscover that sainthood is not about being perfect or distant, but about living close to God, rooted in the Eucharist, with a heart open to love.
