Vatican City - Pope Francis on Thursday recognised a miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis, clearing the path for canonization of the teenager poised to become the first millennial saint.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, met with Pope Francis on Thursday, who approved the promulgation of several decrees related to the causes of canonization of various men and women.

The young layman, Carlo Acutis, was born on May 3, 1991, in London, England, and passed away on October 12, 2006, in Monza, Italy, succumbing to leukemia at the age of 15.

Pope Francis beatified the millennial in 2020 in Assisi, where Blessed Carlo had made several pilgrimages and where his mortal remains rest.

Miracle attributed to Blessed Carlo Acutis
The miracle recognized on Thursday involves a woman from Costa Rica.

On July 8, 2022, Liliana prayed at Blessed Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, leaving a letter detailing her plea. Six days earlier, on July 2, her daughter Valeria had fallen from her bicycle in Florence, where she was attending university.

She had suffered severe head trauma, requiring craniotomy surgery and the removal of the right occipital bone to reduce pressure on her brain, with doctors giving her a very low chance of survival.

Liliana’s secretary immediately began praying to Blessed Carlo Acutis, and on July 8, Liliana made her pilgrimage to his tomb in Assisi.

That same day, the hospital informed her that Valeria had begun to breathe spontaneously. The next day, she started to move and partially regain her speech.

On July 18, a CAT scan confirmed that her hemorrhage had disappeared, and on August 11, Valeria was moved to rehabilitation therapy. She made quick progress, and on September 2, Valeria and Liliana made another pilgrimage to Assisi to thank Blessed Carlo for his intercession.

In the decree released on Thursday, Pope Francis announced he will convene a Consistory of Cardinals to deliberate the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis, as well as Blessed Giuseppe Allamano, Marie-Léonie Paradis, and Elena Guerra.

Miracles, martyrdom, and heroic virtues
The decrees also recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Giuseppe Allamano (1851-1926), an Italian priest who founded the Consolata Missionaries.

The miracle involved the healing of an indigenous man in Cape Verde named Sorino Yanomami, who was attacked by a jaguar on February 7, 1996, in the Amazonian forest.

Although his brain was partially exposed, Sorino survived thanks to surgery in Boa Vista and the intercession of Blessed Allamano after several members of his congregation prayed a novena for Sorino.

Pope Francis also recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Giovanni Merlini (1795-1873), an Italian priest of the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood.

The Holy Father recognized the martyrdom of a Polish priest—Servant of God Stanislav Kostka Streich (1902-1938)—and a Hungarian laywoman—Servant of God Mária Magdolna Bódi (1921-1945)—both killed in hatred of the faith by communists.

The decrees also acknowledged the heroic virtues of the Servants of God Guglielmo Gattiani (Italian Capuchin priest, 1914-1999), Ismaele Molinero Novillo (Spanish layman, 1917-1938), and Ismaele Molinero Novillo (Italian layman, 1911-1974).

Pope Francis approved the “favorable votes of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops for the canonization of Blessed Emanuele Ruiz and 7 Companions, of the Order of Friars Minor, and Francesco, Abdel Mooti, and Raffaele Massabki, Lay Faithful, killed in hatred of the Faith in Damascus (Syria) between July 9 and 10, 1860.”