Pope Francis formally recognised a miracle attributed to the intercession of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager who the pope has said is a role model for young men and women today.
In a meeting Feb. 22 with Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope advanced the sainthood causes of Acutis, as well as one woman and seven men, including Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande and his two companions who were murdered in El Salvador in 1977.
The Vatican announced Feb. 23 that the pope had signed the decrees.
Antonia Salzano, Acutis’ mother, told Catholic News Service Feb. 24 that the news of the pope’s approval made her “really, really happy.”
“Pope Francis has always been close to Carlo; he quoted him in Christus Vivit, and this was a great privilege in that he cited him as an example for young people in the whole world,” Salzano said.
His devotion to spreading the word about Eucharistic miracles around the world, as well as his upcoming beatification “is an occasion to make Carlo’s spirituality known to those who don’t know him,” Salzano said.
“Carlo did it with great love because he wanted everyone to love the Blessed Sacrament and place it first, something that he would do by going to Mass every day as well as participating in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” she said.
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With thanks to Crux, Catholic News Service and Junno Arocho Esteves, where this article originally appeared.
