The planned canonization service for the first millennial saint, Italian teen Carlo Acutis, has been postponed following the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 on April 21, 2024. Acutis, who used his coding skills to spread the Catholic faith online, was set to be declared a saint on April 27, 2024, in a ceremony expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to St. Peter’s Square. Despite the Pope’s passing, the ongoing Catholic Holy Year will proceed as planned.
Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991 and passed away in Italy in 2006 after battling leukemia. Before his death, he considered becoming a priest. Acutis was beatified in 2020, meaning the Pope declared that he had attained the blessedness of heaven, and was given the title of Blessed. Two miraculous medical healings have been attributed to Acutis, a necessary step in the process of canonization.
The College of Cardinals voted to canonize Acutis in July 2024, with the ceremony planned for the same year. Bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, described Acutis as an ordinary boy who lived a life of faith that led him to be recognized as a saint by the Church and the world. The news was reported by Kinsey Crowley, a trending news reporter at USA TODAY.
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