Boy who died at 15 to become first millennial saint in Catholic Church: What did he do?

Carlos Acutis, a teenage boy who died after a battle with leukaemia in 2006, is set to become the first millennial saint in the Catholic Church.

Acutis, who was 15 when he passed, was recognized by the office of the Holy See on Thursday for a second miracle — a threshold usually required by the Vatican before sainthood.

Vatican News reported that Pope Francis will “convene a Consistory of Cardinals” to deliberate Acutis’ canonization, along with the canonization of three others.

Acutis, who was born in London in 1991 but lived in Italy, operated a website to document Eucharistic miracles and visions of Mary from around the world. He started the project when he was 11.

Vatican News reported that he was said to have a passion for the history of the church and a thirst for knowledge, which prompted his mother, who had only attended mass “three times,” to take theology classes to discuss and answer Acutis’ questions.

He had also considered the priesthood, his mother said, before becoming sick and dying after a battle with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2016. After his body was laid to rest at a cathedral in Assisi, admirers frequently made pilgrimages to his tomb.

Acutis’s first step on the journey toward sainthood occurred in 2018, when a decree authorized by Pope Francis declared him “Venerable,” according to the Catholic News Agency. Acustis became “Blessed,” or beautified, in 2020, after a woman in Brazil claimed that praying for Acutis’ intercession cured her son of a pancreatic issue, the National Catholic Register recounted.

The second miracle attributed to Acutis took place in 2022, according to the Vatican News. This time, a mother from Costa Rica made a pilgrimage to Acutis’ tomb in Assisi, praying for her daughter’s recovery after a brain injury, the outlet reported. The girl’s reported recovery, and Acutis’ alleged intercession, were recognized as his second miracle Thursday.

News of Acutis’ possible canonization comes just days after the Vatican reformed its process for evaluating certain religious visions. Specifically, the office of the Holy See said that the Vatican’s new process makes it tougher for alleged events of “supernatural origin” to be authenticated.

The move, in part, was adopted to prevent instances of people attempting to fabricate such visions or apparitions in order to manipulate the faithful.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
First published at https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/boy-who-died-at-15-to-become-first-millennial-saint-in-catholic-church-what-did-he-do/