A crowd in St. Peter's Square
With approximately 80,000 faithful in attendance, the Pope presided over the Mass for the canonization of Carlo Acutis on September 7, officially proclaiming the young Italian who died in 2006 at the age of 15 a saint. This historic event makes Acutis the first saint of the Catholic Church's millennial generation, a model of holiness for young people in the 21st century.
The miracle that confirmed his holiness
The path to canonization was completed with the approval of a second miracle attributed to the intercession of the then-blessed. Valeria Vargas Valverde, a 24-year-old Costa Rican university student, suffered a serious bicycle accident in Florence in July 2022 that caused a devastating brain injury. Doctors performed a craniotomy and removed the right occipital lobe, considering her chances of survival to be minimal.
A mother's desperate prayer
Faced with the bleak prognosis, Valeria's mother, Liliana, traveled to Assisi on July 8, 2022. With sincere faith and a heavy heart, she knelt before the tomb of Carlo Acutis and left a letter begging for his intercession for her daughter's life. That same day, Valeria began to breathe spontaneously. Her recovery, which doctors described as inexplicable, was rapid and complete: the next day she regained movement and speech, and within weeks she was able to travel to Assisi to give thanks in person.
Antonia Salzano: a mother transformed by her son's faith
Among the most emotional attendees was Antonia Salzano, Carlo's mother. Accompanied by her husband and the new saint's twin brothers, she listened with emotion to the Pope's words, who emphasized that Carlo "found Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents… and then at school, and above all in the sacraments." In numerous interviews, Salzano has acknowledged that it was her son's deep faith, who from an early age wanted to be in church every day, that reconnected her with her own Catholic practice. "He saved me," she has repeatedly stated.
A living testimony at the ceremony
During the liturgy, Valeria Vargas Valverde, now fully recovered and with no visible signs of her serious injury, read one of the petitions in Spanish. Her presence was a tangible testimony to the miracle that confirmed Acutis's holiness. Father Patrick Briscoe, who concelebrated the Mass, noted that "Valeria's presence contributed greatly to the joy of the celebration. It was a sign of a mother's prayer being answered."
A legacy of trust for young people
Antonia Salzano reflected on the significance of her son's canonization in the current context. She noted that, in the face of the trials faced by Christians, especially young people, Carlo's life reminds us that each person carries "beautiful things" within and that the key is to "have confidence." Carlo, who at the age of 7 wrote "Being united with God: this is my life plan," kept that promise until his death from leukemia, naturally integrating prayer, study, sports, and charity into his daily life.
Original source: www.thebostonpilot.com (published September 10, 2025)
Photo: Teo Zac on Unsplash
