Nineteen years after his death in 2006, teenager Carlo Acutis will be canonized on September 7, 2025. Here’s a look back at the brief life of this Italian who died at the age of 15, as well as the very swift canonical process—13 years—that will make him the first “millennial saint.”
Chronology of Carlo Acutis’ life and canonization process
Seeing the dates clearly listed situates the soon-to-be saint in the context of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and reveals his swift path to sainthood.
Source: Antoine Mekary | ALETEIA
Childhood
May 3, 1991: Carlo Acutis is born in London. He is the first son of Andrea Acutis, an investment banker at Lazard and member of Turin's upper middle class, and Antonia Salzano, a publisher.
May 18, 1991: Carlo Acutis is baptized at Our Lady of Dolours Church in London.
September 8, 1991: The Acutis family moves to Milan, where his father takes over the management of the family business, Vittoria Assicurazioni, a giant in the Italian insurance industry.
September 1997: Carlo Acutis enrolls at San Carlo Primary School in Milan, but due to the distance from his home, he transfers to the Tommaseo Institute run by the Sisters of Saint Marcellina a few weeks later, where he will complete the first part of his schooling.
June 16, 1998: Carlo Acutis receives his First Communion.
2005: Carlo Acutis joins the Leon XIII Jesuit high school in Milan. That same year, he creates a website listing Eucharistic miracles from around the world.
Illness and death
October 2, 2006: Carlo Acutis falls ill. His parents initially think he has the flu.
October 8, 2006: Carlo Acutis' health deteriorates dramatically and he is hospitalized at the De Marchi clinic. He is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a form of cancer affecting the bone marrow.
October 9, 2006: Carlo Acutis is transferred to San Gerardo Hospital in Monza.
October 10, 2006: Carlo Acutis receives the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
October 11, 2006: Carlo Acutis falls into a coma, and his brain stops functioning in the late afternoon.
October 12, 2006: Carlo Acutis's heart stops beating in the morning. The 15-year-old boy is officially declared dead.
October 14, 2006: Carlo Acutis' funeral is celebrated in the church of Santa Maria Segreta in the presence of a large crowd, and he is then buried in the family cemetery in Ternengo in Piedmont. In January 2007, Carlo Acutis' body is transferred, according to his wishes, to the municipal cemetery in Assisi.
2Thirteen years to become a saint (2012-2025)
Opening of the cause
October 12, 2012: Official opening of the cause for beatification of Carlo Acutis, who is now recognized as a “servant of God.”
February 15, 2013: Solemn opening of the diocesan phase of the beatification process of Carlo Acutis in Milan.
May 13, 2013: The Holy See gives its nihil obstat to the launch of the cause for beatification of Carlo Acutis.
October 12, 2013: In Brazil, Matheus, a little boy with a pancreatic malformation, touches a relic of Carlo Acutis on the anniversary of his death. Shortly thereafter, he is healed. This miracle will be recognized by the Church in 2020.
November 24, 2016: Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, presides over the closing ceremony of the diocesan phase.
“Venerable”
July 5, 2018: Pope Francis approves the publication of a decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Carlo Acutis. He is now recognized as “venerable.”
October 30, 2018: Vatican media presents Segni, a documentary dedicated to Eucharistic miracles “inspired” by Carlo Acutis.
April 6, 2019: The remains of Carlo Acutis are transferred to the Shrine of the Spoliation—the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore—in Assisi. The embalmed body of the venerable is placed in a glass-covered catafalque.
February 21, 2020: Pope Francis gives his approval for the publication of a decree recognizing the miracle of the healing of little Matheus in Brazil, attributed to the intercession of Carlo Acutis. This recognition opens the door to the beatification of the Milanese teen.
October 6, 2020: Release in Italy of a mini-series on Carlo Acutis, My Highway to Heaven.
“Blessed”
October 10, 2020: Cardinal Agostino Vallini, papal legate for the basilicas of St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, celebrates the beatification of Carlo Acutis in the Umbrian city.
January 20, 2021: A relic of Carlo Acutis is installed in the Basilica del Pilar in Buenos Aires.
July 2, 2022: Valeria Valverde, a teenager from Costa Rica studying in Florence, falls off her bicycle: the resulting head injury means that her condition is life-threatening. Her mother goes to Carlo Acutis' tomb to ask for his intercession. In the following weeks, the girl makes a full recovery.
October 12, 2022: A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis is installed in the chapel of a middle and high school in Saint-Bonnet-de-Galaure, France.
October 16, 2022: An altar containing the relic of Carlo Acutis' heart is inaugurated in the Cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi.
September 4, 2023: A reliquary containing locks of Carlo Acutis' hair is inaugurated in Rabat, on the island of Gozo in Malta.
September 11, 2023: A reliquary containing locks of Carlo Acutis' hair is inaugurated in Alife, Campania (Italy).
March 25, 2024: A relic of Carlo Acutis is donated to the patronage of Lisieux by the family of Carlo Acutis.
Canonization
May 23, 2024: Pope Francis approves the publication of a decree recognizing the miracle of the healing of young Valeria in Italy, attributed to the intercession of Carlo Acutis. This recognition opens the door to Carlo’s canonization.
July 17-21, 2024: A relic of Carlo Acutis is displayed at the American Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
November 16, 2024: Sixteen hairs from Carlo Acutis are offered to the sixteen dioceses of South Korea in anticipation of the upcoming World Youth Days to be held in the country in 2027.
November 20, 2024: During the general audience, Pope Francis announces that Carlo Acutis will be canonized during the Jubilee Year 2025. Then, during the Angelus on November 24, the Argentine pontiff announces the date of April 27, 2025.
February 9, 2025: A relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis is installed in the parish of San Tommaso Apostolo in Rome.
April 27, 2025: The date initially planned for the canonization of Carlo Acutis during the Jubilee Mass for adolescents. The death of Pope Francis on April 21 forces the College of Cardinals to postpone the canonization. Thousands of young pilgrims who had come to Rome for the event attend the funeral Mass for the Argentine pontiff on April 26.
June 13, 2025: During his first consistory, the new Pope Leo XIV announces that the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will take place on September 7, 2025.
