Thousands flock to view body of 'God's influencer' Carlo Acutis before canonisation; How does a person get recognised as saint?

In Italy's medieval town of Assisi, thousands of worshippers are flocking to view the persevered body of the "God's influencer" Carlo Acutis before he is canonised as the "first millennial saint".

Acutis will be the first millennial (people born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s to early 2000s) to be canonised.

Who is Carlo Acutis?

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Carlo Acutis was a British born Italian web designer who designed a website catalogue of Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions. He died aged 15 in 2006 and since his passing, a series of miracles have been attributed to him.

In 2020, he was beatified by Pope Francis. Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name.

His canonization - declaration of a deceased person as a saint - is scheduled to happen on 27 April 2025.

How is a person Canonised?

The right to officially recognise a deceased person as a saint rests with the Catholic Church.

Canonisation is the official name given to the process of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of saints, or an authorised list of that communion's recognised saints.

For a person to be canonised, at least two miracles must have been performed through the intercession of the Blessed after their death.

For Carlo Acutis, the two miracles are: One case where he "interceded from heaven" to cure a child with a rare pancreatic disease, and another saw a woman's brain haemorrhage disappear after her mum prayed to Acutis to have her cured.

(With inputs from agencies)