Pope Francis Clears Way for First Millennial Saint

pope francis clears way for first millennial saint

ASSISI, ITALY - OCTOBER 10: A tapestry featuring a portrait of Carlo Acutis is hang at the St. Francis Basilica during the beatification ceremony of Carlo Acutis, on October 10, 2020 in Assisi, Italy. The fifteen-year-old Carlo Acutis member of the Millennial generation who died on 12 October 2006 from M3 fulminant leukemia, is considered a "computer geek" on account of his passion and skill with computers and the internet. Acutis applied himself to creating a website dedicated to cataloguing each reported Eucharistic miracle in the world. (Photo by Vatican Pool/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has cleared the way for the first Millennial sainthood after attributing a second miracle to an Italian teenager who died at the age of 15.

Carlos Acutis, who has been dubbed "God's influencer" and "the patron saint of the internet," used his computer skills during his short life to spread the Catholic faith online.

Acutis was born in London in 1991 to Italian parents, but grew up in Milan. There, he created a website to catalog miracles and took care of websites for local Catholic organizations, Reuters reported. He died of acute leukemia on October 12, 2006.

Acutis was put on the path to sainthood after Francis approved a miracle attributed to him in 2020, saying he had interceded to heal a 7-year-old Brazilian boy who had a rare pancreatic disorder after the boy came into contact with a piece of one of Acutis' T-shirts.

Francis approved the latest miracle attributed "to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis" during a meeting with the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, on Thursday, according to a statement from the Vatican press office.

The attribution of a second miracle means Acutis can now be elevated to sainthood, although the Vatican did not say when this would happen.

The Vatican has been contacted for further comment via email.

The latest miracle attributed to Acutis' intercession concerns the healing of Valeria Valverde, a 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica who suffered a serious head injury following a bicycle accident while she was studying in the Italian city of Florence in the summer of 2022, the Catholic News Agency reported.

The girl's family were told by doctors that she was near death after she underwent an emergency craniotomy, the news agency reported. But six days after the accident, Valverde's mother prayed for her recovery at Acutis' tomb in Assisi, a town in Italy's Umbria region.

That day, Valverde began to breathe on her own and she was discharged from intensive care 10 days after her mother's pilgrimage.

Further tests showed that the contusion Valverde had in her brain had completely disappeared, the news agency reported.

Acutis "used the internet in service of the gospel, to reach as many people as possible," Cardinal Agostino Vallini said during his beatification ceremony in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in October 2020, The Associated Press reported at the time.

Update 5/23/24, 8:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial

OTHER NEWS

17 minutes ago

2025 Volkswagen Golf R: Hot hatch gets hotter

17 minutes ago

Future of Laybuy unknown after company placed into receivership

17 minutes ago

Melbourne star Christian Petracca says season-ending King's Birthday injuries 'the most traumatic thing I've experienced'

17 minutes ago

Volkswagen dropping $5bn into struggling EV maker Rivian

17 minutes ago

Gary Neville says England substitute 'must start' Euro 2024 last-16 tie

17 minutes ago

KF-21 Fighter: KAI Signs $1.41 Billion Deal To Start Production Of South Korean Air Force Next-Gen Jet

17 minutes ago

Celine Dion’s sweet friendship with Aussie music legend John Farnham

18 minutes ago

Ramnaresh Sarwan predicts mass exodus of West Indies players to the US

18 minutes ago

Jeremy Renner felt his skull crack in hellish snowplough accident

19 minutes ago

A US$100 billion bet on China’s economy sours as warehouses empty

19 minutes ago

India's Rahul Gandhi appointed as parliamentary leader of opposition

21 minutes ago

America's largest outdoor mineral springs resort is coming to Houston

25 minutes ago

Katie Holmes receives award in Italy in stunning off-white gown

25 minutes ago

Hearing on removal of Jack Smith from Trump case concludes

25 minutes ago

Titans' Rashad Weaver: 'It's time to take a leap' in Year 4

25 minutes ago

Woman Has Internet Hooked With Daily Vlogs as Moulin Rouge Dancer

25 minutes ago

China rover returns historic samples from far side of the moon — and they may contain secrets to Earth's deep past

25 minutes ago

2024 Volkswagen Golf R brings power boost and new tech

25 minutes ago

Julian Assange Pleads Guilty to Espionage, Securing His Freedom

25 minutes ago

Estimated declaration times of General Election results: Alphabetical list

25 minutes ago

Farage called out over comments

25 minutes ago

£1.4bn worth of PPE from single firm was destroyed or written off

25 minutes ago

Lol: Woman drank alcohol from her handbag at fancy restaurant, Mzansi laughs

25 minutes ago

Woman Not 'Satisfied' With Carpet Job—Then Cleaner Shared the Before Photo

29 minutes ago

Jacksonville approves $1.4B renovation of Jaguars stadium

29 minutes ago

Guatemala appeals court revokes judge's order to give house arrest to renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora

29 minutes ago

Suspected Yemen Houthi attack targets vessel in waters farther away than many previous assaults

29 minutes ago

Guatemalan appeals court revokes order to grant house arrest to journalist José Rubén Zamora

30 minutes ago

Valley View tornado survivor continues to heal after suffering broken ribs, a punctured lung and blood clot

30 minutes ago

Canada beats Peru 1-0 for first ever Copa America win

30 minutes ago

Woman found shot to death in Illinois farm field finally identified after nearly 50 years

30 minutes ago

Kenya Moore Breaks Her Silence After ‘RHOA’ Season 16 Exit

30 minutes ago

A skydiving accident left him a double amputee. Now he’s a snowboarding champion

33 minutes ago

Video: Michael Phelps says false doping accusations eroded 'a lifetime of mental health growth' - and now regulators turning a blind eye to accusations of China doing just that

33 minutes ago

Video: Nigel Farage makes thinly veiled swipe after being booed by crowd as he wins best news presenter at the TRIC Awards

34 minutes ago

Newly sworn-in ANC MP Zizi Kodwa: State’s case against me is ‘nonexistent’

34 minutes ago

John 5 Responds to Accusations of Guitar Miming With Motley Crue

34 minutes ago

Despite political uncertainty, Cape Town's office rental market thrives

34 minutes ago

Labor’s renewables-only approach ‘can’t’ stabilise Australia’s energy grid

34 minutes ago

Medihelp reports strong growth, more younger members join