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In the months leading up to the expected canonization, the
faithful have been flocking to Assisi, Italy, where his body —
wearing sneakers, jeans and a sweatshirt — lies in a shrine. He
was 15 when he died in northern Italy in 2006 after a short bout
with leukemia.
His road to sainthood, the canonization process, started more
than 10 years ago at the initiative of a group of priests and
friends, and formally took off shortly after Pope Francis began
his papacy in 2013.
Acutis was named “venerable” in 2018 after the church recognized
his virtuous life, and his body was taken to a shrine in
Assisi’s Santuario della Spogliazione, a major site linked to
St. Francis’ life.
He was then declared “blessed” in 2020 after the Vatican
dicastery that studies sainthood processes recognized a
miraculous healing through Acutis’ intercession — a child in
Brazil who recovered in a “scientifically inexplainable” manner.
Last year, the church paved his way to sainthood by attributing
to him a second miracle — the complete healing of a Costa Rican
student in Italy from major head trauma in a bicycle accident
after her mother prayed at Acutis’ tomb.
Acutis used his computer savvy to create an online exhibit about
more than 100 eucharistic miracles recognized by the church over
centuries, focused on the real presence of Christ that Catholics
believe is in the consecrated bread and wine. He also taught
catechism and did outreach to the homeless.
The Mass for adolescents, expected to attract tens of thousands
of faithful, will go ahead. It is part of a year-long
celebration of the Holy Year inaugurated by Francis in December,
which the Vatican said was continuing, albeit with
modifications.
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