An Italian teenager who died in 2006 is set to become the world's first millennial saint after Pope Francis attributed two miracles to him, according to Vatican News.
Carlo Acutis, who was born in 1991 and died at the age of 15, was dubbed "God's influencer" after spreading the teachings of the Catholic Church online.
He launched a website seeking to document every reported Eucharistic miracle days before his death.
He is set to be canonised, although it is unknown when it will be held, according to his website.
Process of becoming a saint
The process of making someone a saint cannot normally start until at least five years after their death, according to an article by the BBC.
After five years, or if a waiver by the Pope is granted, the bishop of the diocese where the person died can open up an investigation into the life of the individual.
Their life is examined for sufficient holiness and virtue to be considered for sainthood.
Once the case is accepted, the person can be called a "servant of God".
The Pope decides
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints then scrutinises the case, and if it is approved, it is passed to the Pope.
The Pope can then decide to bestow the title of "venerable" if he deems the that the person lived a life of "heroic virtue".
A miracle needs to be attributed to prayers made to the individual after their death for beatification to happen.
Prayers being granted are seen as proof that the individual is already in heaven.
Incidents need to be "verified" by evidence before they are accepted as miracles.
Second miracle
After beatification, the title of "blessed" is bestowed on the individual.
The last stage, canonisation, occurs when a second miracle is attributed to prayers made to the individual after they have been beatified.
An exception is made for martyrs, who only need one verified miracle to become a saint.
After canonisation, the person is official declared a saint.
Miracles
Acutis performed two miracles for him to be canonised.
The first miracle was related to a woman in Brazil.
The woman had taken her son, who was born with a pancreatic defect to a prayer service. The defect resulted in difficulty eating and abdominal pain, causing the boy to vomit constantly.
During the service, the boy wished that he "could stop vomiting so much".
On the way home, the boy said that he had been cured of his ailment, and requested for solid foods, which he ate without issues.
The second was related to a woman from Costa Rica.
On Jul. 8, 2022, the woman prayed at Acutis' tomb in Assisi.
Her daughter had fallen from her bicycle in Florence six days earlier. She suffered severe head trauma, and required craniotomy surgery and the removal of the right occipital bone to reduce pressure on her brain.
Doctors said that her chance of survival was very low.
After prayer, the hospital informed the woman that her daughter had begun to breathe.
The next day, she began to move and was able to partially regain her speech.
On Jul. 18, her daughter's hemorrhage had disappeared, and on Aug. 11, she was moved to rehabilitation therapy.
Death
On Oct. 1, 2006, Acutis had developed an inflammation of the throat.
He was diagnosed with parotitis and dehydration, but after a few days, the pain worsened and he had blood in his urine.
On Oct. 8, he was too weak to get out of bed.
He was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, and offered his suffering to the Pope and Church.
On Oct. 10, he went into a coma due to a brain hemorrhage and died the next day.
His body lies entombed in the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in Assisi, Italy.
https://mothership.sg/2024/05/carlo-acutis-becomes-a-saint/
