The sudden death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, has reverberated across the Catholic world — not only marking the end of a historic papacy but also delaying one of the most anticipated canonizations in recent memory: that of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Acutis, a teenager from Milan known for his deep Eucharistic devotion and tech-savvy evangelization, had been scheduled to be canonized by Pope Francis on April 27 during a special jubilee celebration for young people. But now, as the Church prepares for a conclave to elect the 267th pope, that moment will await the attention of his successor.
Tens of thousands of young Catholics, many of whom had already made pilgrimage to Rome for the canonization, remain in the Eternal City — not for a saint’s celebration, but to hold vigil and mourn the loss of the Holy Father.
Carlo Acutis’ path to sainthood has been deeply intertwined with the three most recent popes, each of whom played a unique role in shaping the public memory and ecclesial recognition of his life. Born in 1991 under Pope John Paul II, Carlo’s early spirituality was formed through the influence of his Polish nanny and the late pontiff’s global outreach.
According to Catholic News Agency, in October 2000, Carlo’s family traveled to Rome during the Great Jubilee and attended Pope John Paul II’s entrustment of the new millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The 9-year-old stood in St. Peter’s Square as the pope prayed:
“The Church today, through the voice of the successor of Peter, in union with so many pastors assembled here from every corner of the world, seeks refuge in your motherly protection and trustingly begs your intercession as she faces the challenges which lie hidden in the future.”
When Pope Benedict XVI was elected in April 2005, Carlo, then 13, was deeply moved by the new pontiff. That same year, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Before his death in October 2006, Carlo told his mother:
“I offer all the suffering I will have to endure to the Lord for the pope and for the Church, in order not to go through purgatory and to go straight to heaven,” according to his mother.
Under Pope Francis, Carlo’s cause advanced rapidly. In 2018, the Holy Father declared him venerable, recognizing his heroic virtue, and later approved two miracles attributed to his intercession — paving the way for beatification and eventual sainthood.
In Christus Vivit, his 2019 apostolic exhortation to young people, Pope Francis praised Carlo as a witness for the digital age:
“His witness indicates to today’s young people that true happiness is found by putting God in first place and serving him in our brothers and sisters, especially the least.”
Pope Francis
Pope Francis also warned youth against “self-absorption, isolation, and empty pleasure.”
Carlo’s canonization Mass was to be the highlight of the Jubilee of Teenagers, drawing an estimated 80,000 youth from across the world. Instead, it will now be offered as part of the Novendiales, the traditional nine-day mourning period following the death of a pope.
According to Catholic News Agency, the canonization will now fall to the next pope, who “will likely recognize the moment as an opportunity to speak to the Church’s future and to its youth,” marking a significant moment in Church history with the elevation of its first millennial saint.
As young pilgrims continue to gather in Rome — first for a saint, now for a funeral — the legacy of Carlo Acutis continues to inspire a generation, embodying what it means to live holiness in the digital age.
