Pope Francis has recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a pivotal step in declaring him the first millennial saint in the Catholic Church.
The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints confirmed the decision through a decree on Thursday, attributing the miracle to a case in Costa Rica. A woman, during her pilgrimage to Acutis’s tomb in Assisi, Italy, prayed for her daughter’s recovery after a life-threatening head injury.
The girl had suffered severe trauma, requiring critical brain surgery and facing grim survival odds. On July 18, 2022—the same day her mother prayed at Acutis’s resting place—the girl began to move and partially regained her ability to speak. Follow-up scans revealed her hemorrhaging had vanished, and her rapid recovery led both mother and daughter to return to Assisi in gratitude.
Acutis, who passed away from leukemia at 15 in 2006, was known for his deep faith and technological expertise. A self-taught programmer, he created a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles worldwide. His mother, Antonia Salzano, described him as an “influencer for God,” using technology to share the gospel while cautioning against its misuse.
“Because he understood that [technology] was potentially very harmful, very dangerous, he wanted to be the master of these means, not a slave,” Salzano said in an interview.
Pope Francis, who beatified Acutis on October 10, 2020, praised him in his apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit for embracing modern tools to inspire faith and values.
A consistory will soon be convened to discuss Acutis’s canonization, signaling the final step before his official recognition as a saint.
