Pope Francis has officially recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, paving the way for the teenager to become a saint. Today, the Pope signed a decree confirming the miracle, which brings Acutis one step closer to canonization.
Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at just 15 years old, has been hailed as “the patron saint of the internet” due to his profound devotion to the Eucharist and his creation of a website documenting Eucharistic miracles. Despite his young age, Acutis inspired many with his piety, love for Jesus, and acts of kindness and generosity.
Beatified in Assisi in 2020 after his first miracle was recognized, the Italian teenager is set to become the first millennial saint following his upcoming canonization, expected to take place in 2025 during the Church’s jubilee year.
The miracle in question, as detailed by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, involved the healing of Valeria Valverde, a 21-year-old woman from Costa Rica. In 2022, while studying in Florence, Valverde suffered a severe head injury in a bicycle accident that nearly claimed her life.
After undergoing emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, Valverde’s family was informed that her situation was critical and that she might not survive. Six days after the accident, Valverde’s mother embarked on a pilgrimage to Blessed Carlo Acutis’s tomb in Assisi, where she prayed fervently for her daughter’s recovery and left a written note.
Remarkably, on the same day as her mother’s pilgrimage, Valverde began breathing on her own, and by the following day, she could move her arms and speak again. Within 10 days of her mother’s visit to Assisi, Valverde was discharged from intensive care after tests showed that the hemorrhage in her brain had completely disappeared. Following a week of physiotherapy, she made a full recovery.
Pope Francis’s recognition of this miracle clears the way for Acutis’s canonization, potentially alongside other Blesseds such as Canadian nun Marie-Léonie Paradis, Elena Guerra, and Giuseppe Allamano. Acutis’s remarkable life and the miraculous healing attributed to his intercession have inspired Catholics worldwide, solidifying his status as a modern-day saint for the digital age.