On November 20, ringing church bells echoed through the streets of Assisi to celebrate Pope Francis’ announcement during the general audience that Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized as a saint on April 27, 2025, during the Jubilee of Teenagers in Rome.
The young boy’s tomb is located in Assisi’s Sanctuary of the Renunciation, a part of the Church of St. Mary Major.
“Assisi rejoices at this important news that allows us to head toward the day of the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis with all the enthusiasm and good preparation necessary,” said Domenico Sorrentino, Archbishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and of Foligno, in a press release published on November 20.
“I feel that this is a moment of grace for our Church, the Church in Italy, and the whole world. The Church and especially young people feel that Carlo is a ray of light, as were St. Francis and St. Clare in whose footsteps he came to sanctify himself and now rests.”
"Truly an original"
“He was truly an original, not a photocopy. He wanted to fully conform to Jesus, to be a smile of God and a magnet of holiness for young people,” the Archbishop continued. “Thanks to the Holy Father Francis, thanks especially to the Lord because with Carlo he is doing great things.”
“We share our joy with [Carlo’s] dad Andrea, mom, Antonia, sister, Francesca, and brother, Michele. It is beautiful that Carlo points to the family as a path to holiness,” he concluded.
Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), a computer enthusiast who used his skills for evangelization, died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
He was proclaimed venerable just 12 years after his death, in 2018, and then recognized as blessed in 2020, after a miracle was attributed to his intercession.
Initially buried not far from Milan, where he is originally from, his body was transferred to Assisi in response to his desire to be close to the figure of St. Francis, whom he was particularly fond of.
In May 23, 2024, Pope Francis accepted a decree attributing a second miracle to Carlo’s intercession, paving the way for his canonization.
2 new young saints
During the November 20 general audience, Pope Francis announced that two young Italian blesseds, whose canonization dates were eagerly awaited, are going to be made saints in 2025 : Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925).
Pier Giorgio Frassati, will be proclaimed a saint in front of thousands of other young people during the Jubilee of Youth in Rome from July 28 to August 3. The exact date is not yet confirmed but it is thought to be Sunday, August 3.
Frassati was a mountaineering enthusiast, who devoted his life to serving the poor before dying at the age of 24 of polio. Although a second miracle is usually necessary for a blessed to be recognized a saint, for Frassati it seems Pope Francis okayed his canonization next summer before a decree has been officially published recognizing another miracle attributed to him.
