Pope Leo to make Carlo Acutis first millennial saint on September 7

Carlo Acutis, the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, to be canonised on September 7 by Pope Leo.

The canonisation of the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, Carlo Acutis, will take place on September 7, Pope Leo announced on Friday (June 13, 2025).

Acutis, a British-born Italian who died from leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was originally set to be made a saint on April 27 but the event was suspended after the death of Pope Francis.

Pope Leo announced the new date during a meeting with cardinals to discuss sainthood causes on Friday (June 13, 2025).

The pope did not say where the sainthood ceremony would be held, but canonisations are usually celebrated in St. Peter’s Square. Acutis’ sainthood has drawn wide attention from young Catholics and is likely to bring tens of thousands of people to Rome.

Acutis, sometimes referred to as “God’s influencer”, learned several computer coding languages before his death and built websites to spread his faith.

His mother, Antonia Salzano, told Reuters in April that the heart of her son’s appeal was that he lived the same life as others who were teenagers in the 2000s.

“Carlo was an ordinary child like others,” she said. “He used to play, to have friends, and to go to school. But his extraordinary quality was the fact that he opened the door of his heart to Jesus and put Jesus in first place in his life.”