Initially, the consistory that announced the canonisation dates of several blesseds did not include Carlo Acutis.
However, the Vatican surprised everyone with an unexpected plot twist: it announced that the young Italian will be canonised on 7 September. And he won’t be alone.
He will be declared a saint alongside Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was originally expected to be canonised during the Youth Jubilee at the end of July, where he was meant to play a prominent role.
In the end, it was decided that the two great young figures would be declared saints together. Carlo Acutis is known as the “millennial saint.”
He died in 2006 at just 15 years old. He helped the poor and used the Internet to create websites about the Eucharist.
Pier Giorgio Frassati was a 24-year-old mountain enthusiast who died of illness in 1925. Despite his short life, he stood out for his deep faith and social sensitivity.
During the consistory, the canonisation date of seven other blesseds was also approved. Those will take place on 19 October, during the Jubilee of the Missionary World.
Among them are two Venezuelans: the “doctor of the poor,” José Gregorio Hernández, and María Rendiles.