Carlo Acutis and 14 Blesseds approved for canonization

By Devin Watkins

The College of Cardinals gathered with Pope Francis on Monday morning in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for an Ordinary Public Consistory.

The Pope led the Cardinals residing in Rome in praying Mid-Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours before they proceeded to review the causes of canonization of several Blesseds.

Cardinal Marcelo Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, presented a brief report—known in Latin as the Peroratio—on the lives and miracles of the 15 people under consideration, after which the Consistory voted and approved their canonization.

Martyrs and religious examples of faith

The largest group of new Saints were martyred in Damascus, Syria, in 1860 and are known as the “Martyrs of Damascus.”

They include Fr. Manuel Ruiz López, OFM, his 7 companions, and the brothers Abdel Moati, Francis, and Raphael Massabki, three Maronite laymen.

All 11 were killed in hatred of the faith during the 1860 Syrian Civil War, which saw thousands of Christians killed in Ottoman Syria by Muslim militiamen.

According to the Peroratio, the Massabki brothers and the 8 Franciscans were murdered on the night of July 9, 1860, as they prayed inside the Franciscan church in Damascus.

Two Italians—Fr. Giuseppe Allamano and Sr. Elena Guerra—were also approved for canonization. Fr. Allamano founded the Consolata Missionaries in the early years of the 20th century. Sr. Guerra dedicated her life to the education of girls and founded the Oblates of the Holy Spirit in the late 19th century.

The Consistory approved the canonization of a Canadian-born religious, Sr. Marie-Léonie Paradis (born Virginie-Alodie Paradis), who founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family in the early 20th century.

The names of these 14 new Saints will be inscribed in the List of Saints on Sunday, October 20, 2024.

First millennial saint

Pope Francis and the Consistory of Cardinals then voted to approve the canonization of the first Saint from Generation Y, those born between 1981 and 1996 commonly known as millennials.

Blessed Carlo Acutis will likely be proclaimed a Saint during the 2025 Jubilee, possibly along with other canonizations.

Born to Italian parents in London, England, in 1991, Blessed Carlo was a web designer who died from leukemia at the age of 15 in Monza, Italy.

He was known for his devotion to Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions, which he catalogued on a website he designed.

According to the Peroratio, Blessed Carlo was “welcoming and caring towards the poorest, and he helped the homeless, the needy, and immigrants with the money he saved from his weekly allowance.”