The Vatican has announced that the highly anticipated canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, scheduled for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, has been suspended in light of Pope Francis’ death on Easter Monday.
“Following the death of Supreme Pontiff Francis, notice is hereby given that the Eucharistic celebration and Rite of Canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis… is suspended,” the Holy See Press Office stated Monday morning.
The canonization was set to be a highlight of the Vatican’s Jubilee of Teenagers, expected to draw more than 80,000 young pilgrims from around the world, including from the United States, Brazil, India, Australia, and Nigeria. Among them was a youth group from St. Joachim Parish in Sydney, Australia, who had traveled over 10,000 miles to witness the event.
Although the canonization is on hold, the Jubilee’s scheduled Mass for teenagers is still expected to proceed, according to the Associated Press.
A Saint for the Digital Age
Blessed Carlo Acutis, born in 1991 in London and raised in Milan, died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. A tech-savvy teenager with a deep love for Jesus in the Eucharist, Carlo was beatified in 2020 and is widely considered the first millennial on the path to sainthood.
Carlo once said, “To always be united to Jesus: This is my life plan.” Known for attending daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, he described the Eucharist as his “highway to heaven.” His faith and enthusiasm moved many—his parents returned to the Church, and even his Hindu au pair converted to Catholicism.
Carlo used his digital skills to design a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles, a project that evolved into an international exhibit featured in thousands of parishes across five continents.
“People who place themselves before the sun get a tan; people who place themselves before the Eucharist become saints,” he famously said.
Awaiting a New Date
The Vatican has not yet released a new date for Carlo’s canonization. The Church has now entered a mourning period.
A second canonization is still scheduled for this summer during the Jubilee of Youth, which will be held from July 28 to August 3. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, another beloved young Catholic figure, is set to be canonized during that celebration.
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