Carlo Acutis was due to receive his sainthood from the late Pope Francis in April
Pope Leo announces exact date teenage boy will become first Millennial saint
The first Millennial saint will be canonized in just a few weeks, Pope Leo XIV has announced.
The Pope held his first regular consistory for the public earlier this month after being elected in May. He formally approved the canonisations of eight saints, including the first one of the Millennial era, Carlo Acutis.
Originally scheduled for April 27, this was pushed back following the death of Pope Francis on April 21.
Acutis was born in London and had an Italian background. He lived most of his life in Milan, where he was dedicated to the Catholic Church and to helping the less fortunate.
The teen received his first communion when he was seven and regularly donated money to the poor as a child.
Acutis spent his evenings cooking hot meals for the homeless when he was old enough, and earned the nickname ‘God’s influencer’, due to his affinity for tech.
Carlo Acutis will be canonised this year (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
He passed away at the age of 15 from leukaemia in 2006, but has been considered for sainthood after the Vatican determined he was behind two unexplainable miracles.
Vatican officials discovered the teen had helped a two-year-old Brazilian boy, Matheus Vianna, recover from a deadly disease.
Vianna was diagnosed with congenital disorder annular pancreas, which saw his mom turn to the church for help.
She received help from Father Marcelo Tenorio, who was blessing Acutis’ body as part of the pre-canonization stage, who touched a piece of the teen’s clothing to the toddler and asked for him to be healed.
Vianna’s family said after the incident, he was never sick again.
The Vatican also deemed Acutis responsible for another miracle when Costa Rican woman Valeria Valverde, who had suffered a brain haemorrhage after a serious crash, started to breathe again.
Valverde’s mom had prayed at Acutis’ coffin, and the woman was later discharged from hospital after medics said her brain haemorrhage had fully gone.
Carlo Acutis has been laid to rest and preserved in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Italy (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
The late teen’s body has been preserved for the past 19 years, and was due to receive his sainthood from Pope Francis.
As per protocol for when a pope dies, several vital Catholic Church functions closed and shuttered.
Acutis’ canonization has been in the works for almost two decades since his death – it will now go ahead on September 7.
Pope Leo said Acutis will be canonised along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 after contracting polio while helping the sick.
Featured Image Credit: Vatican Pool/Getty
a divine twist, Madonna just discovered a jaw-dropping family connection – she’s related to Pope Leo.
The Queen of Pop has had a rocky relationship with the Catholic church ever since her grand debut in 1982.
The ‘Like a Virgin’ hit-maker was raised and confirmed Catholic, however, the pop icon’s artistic expression has gotten her into some hot water with the Catholic Church.
Madonna has often used religious iconography in her work, including wearing crucifix jewellery with a bra and mesh top in the ’80s, to kissing a saint in the ‘Like a Prayer’ video, and performing strapped to a crucifix on her Confessions Tour.
Her 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour was once criticised by Pope John Paul II who urged the public not to attend, calling it ‘one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity’, while her 2006 Confessions tour was called a ‘blasphemous challenge to the faith and a profanation of the cross’ by Cardinal Ersilio Tonini (via The Guardian).
Hopefully the current pope, Leo XIV, who was elected on May 8 2025, is a Rebel Heart, as it turns out he is actually related to the music icon.
Pope Leo and Madonna are distantly related (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Their shared connection was discovered in a new interactive article by The New York Times in collaboration with American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami.
The research reveals Pope Leo XIV’s genealogy from both his mother’s and father’s sides, with Madonna and the Pope sharing a common Canadian ancestor, Louis Boucher de Grandpre who was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
He also has other famous ‘Canadian-derived distant cousins’, including Angelina Jolie, Hilary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Jack Kerouac, Pierre and former Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
Now, that’d be an interesting family reunion.
To celebrate her new family connection, Madonna shared a snap alongside her father Silvio Ciccone while referencing her iconic hit ‘Vogue’.
“Silvio! We’re related to the Pope! Strike a pose!” Madonna captioned the black-and-white picture.
Pope Leo and Madonna share a common ancestor (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
It was three years ago when Madonna reached out to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 this year, to mend her relationship with the Catholic church.
‘The Confessions on a Dance Floor’ singer sent a tweet which read: “I’m a good Catholic. I swear! I mean I don’t Swear! It’s been a few decades since my last confession.
“Would it be possible to meet up one day to discuss some important matters? I’ve been excommunicated three times. It doesn’t seem fair. Sincerely, Madonna.”
Fingers crossed Madonna and Pope Leo hit it off.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Theo Wargo
Topics: Madonna, Catholic Church, Pope Leo, Celebrity, News
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