Latest news with #canonization
CBS News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Chicago Catholic church to host relic from soon-to-be millennial saint
A rare relic tied to a future saint made a stop in Chicago this week. People attending mass Tuesday night at St. Hedwig Church, at 2226 N. Hoyne Ave. in the Bucktown neighborhood, were set to be able to see it. Reaching the heights of sainthood may not seem like a modern-day story, until one hears about a 15-year-old boy in Milan, Italy, named Carlo Acutis. "His memory and his influence was so great that it impacts us today," said Father Ed Howe. Howe called Carlo Acutis' story amazing. "At an early age, he created websites about eucharistic miracles," Howe said. Father Howe is the pastor at the only parish named for the soon-to-be saint from the Millennial generation, Blessed Carlo Acutis Parish, of which St. Hedwig is a part. "Carlo Acutis was someone who people have called the patron saint of the internet," said Fr. Howe. "He was playing video games, and he probably had an email. He might be the only saint who had an email." St. Hedwig is already home to a relic of Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006. The relic consists of a little lock of his hair. Just weeks before Carlo Acutis is officially canonized by Pope Leo XIV, another relic is visiting Chicago too. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino brought a piece of Carlo Acutis' heart from Italy. "To send people the heart of Carlo," said Sorrentino, "the pericardium, which is the skin around the heart." People can see the relic Tuesday night after Sorrentino holds a special mass at St. Hedwig Church. "When you look at Carlo, you say: 'This is something that works also for me. I can be a saint,'" said Sorrentino. The archbishop said it was the love in the millennial's heart that will make him a saint. "His influence lives on today in so many different ways as an example of how to live holiness for young people in today's world with all its different challenges," said Fr. Howe.
Washington Post
30-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.'
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
First US center to train Catholics on canonization process to open in 2026
(RNS) — The first formation center for canonization in the United States is scheduled to open at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California, in early 2026. The Center for Sainthood, commissioned by San Francisco's Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in an April 14 decree, aims to train sainthood enthusiasts on the inner workings of canonization. Announced earlier this month, the seminary's six-day, in-person certification course promises to teach 'how to honor deserving candidates and expedite their path to sainthood in the Vatican,' according to the center's website. Fifty years after the canonization of the first U.S.-born saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founders of the center said they hope to ignite a stronger saintly American culture. As causes to canonize laypeople and Black American saints have sparked interest among Catholics, what's been missing is a better understanding of the yearslong process, the center's founders said. Michael McDevitt, a spokesperson for the new center who has worked on the cause of Servant of God Cora Evans since 2012, said fellow volunteers could have used training when they started her candidacy. The cause for the Utah-born Catholic convert, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is now under review at the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. 'It seems complex in one sense because there's these many different steps, but once you learn how to move forward … it's not that it's difficult, it's just that it's unknown,' McDevitt told Religion News Service. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ Despite being eager to start causes, many volunteers are deterred by the process seeming out of reach, he said. For this reason, the center's course will focus on the work required at a diocesan level, before petitions are sent to Rome. It includes interviewing historians and theologians, as well as compiling proofs of miracles. McDevitt said he thinks the initiative could appease divisions among American Catholics. 'It'll help encourage people to come back who have drifted away,' he said. 'These are beautiful stories. These are wonderful people that are also ordinary.' Outside of Rome, where the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints offers a one-semester course on the topic in Italian, canonization remains obscure for most Catholics, explained Emanuele Spedicato, an associate professor of canon law at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. In February, Spedicato, the canon lawyer assigned to Evans' cause, will fly to California to teach the center's first cohort of 50 students. 'Outside of Rome and of Italy, where there is a stronger formation from the Vatican, the biggest challenge is really the formation of the people involved in a cause of canonization,' he said. The first part of the course will introduce participants to the Catholic Church's sainthood culture, highlighting how the canonization process has evolved from the ages of martyrs to present day. The training will also include the theological aspect of canonization and will detail the three reasons for which a cause can be started: a person dying in martyrdom, one exercising heroic virtues or one offering their lives in the exercise of their ministry. An entire day will be dedicated to miracles — 'a (key) element in a process of canonization' — Spedicato said. Miracles refer to events that occurred 'by the Grace of God through the intercession of a Venerable, or Blessed, which is scientifically inexplicable,' according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website. For Kathleen Sprows Cummings, an American studies and history professor at University of Notre Dame in Indiana and the author of 'A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American' (2019), the St. Patrick's Seminary initiative signals an interesting shift in the American Catholic Church's approach to sainthood. After despairing about not seeing more American-born saint candidates and decades of volunteers vying for more attention to their causes, Sprows Cummings said faithfuls creating networks and working side by side is a new strategy. 'This is a sign that those days are over — that there's actually many candidates from the United States who are being considered, and that it's in their interest to cooperate rather than compete,' she said. 'It's not a zero-sum game. The popularity of some saints spills over into making others more popular.' The way American Catholics work on causes has also evolved, she noted. Instead of religious order members working full time on causes, now many involve part-time volunteers for whom training can be invaluable. And in recent years, a number of causes for lay Catholics have gained traction among Americans, she said, including those of 6 Black candidates. After George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, interest in the causes of Black candidates increased. 'In a time when the United States is trying to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and the Catholic Church is asking what its part was in that, these stories have a lot of appeal,' Sprows Cummings said. Waldery Hilgeman, the postulator, or person guiding the causes, for three Black saint candidates – Servant of God Julia Greeley, Mother Mary Lange and Venerable Henriette DeLille – will teach classes at the center alongside Spedicato. As Catholics, in America and across the world, await signs of what Pope Leo XIV's approach to saint-making will be, Sprows Cummings said she believes the pope will be compelled to walk in the steps of his predecessors, two 'energetic saint-makers,' as a number of causes are already underway at the dicastery. The new pope, she said, could potentially 'be very interested in … a broader representation of a diversity of the world's Catholics represented as saints.'
Fox News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Vatican sets date for first millennial saint to be canonized
The Vatican has announced that the first millennial saint will be canonized in September. Pope Leo XIV made an announcement during a meeting with cardinals that Carlo Acutis will be inscribed into the Book of Saints on September 7. Acutis died at the age of 15 in Northern Italy after a short bout with leukemia in 2006, according to the Associated Press. Before Pope Francis's death on April 21, Acutis was set to be canonized on April 27 during the Vatican's Jubilee of Teenagers. During his life, Acutis spent most of his time like any normal teenager would, while also giving time back to both the church and the community. According to the Associated Press, Acutis taught Catholicism at a local church and volunteered to help the homeless. Acutis also used his computer coding skills to create a website highlighting more than 100 eucharistic miracles recognized by the church. The first intercession by Acutis came from his own mother, Antonia, who told Fox News that it came four years after his death. "When Carlo died, I was 39 years old, and then I started to try to have other children. I said, 'I'm still young, maybe I can try, no?' [But] the children didn't arrive. Then I had started on my practice to adopt a child, but in Italy, it's very difficult... I had lost all my hopes to have children by myself," she explained. "Once I dreamed about Carlo, he told me, 'listen, you will become, again, a mother. Don't worry.' And, one month after, I became pregnant." According to the National Catholic Register, the Vatican has recognized a second miracle by intercession on May 23, 2024. The miracle involved a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman named Valeria Valverde. Valverde sustained a serious brain injury in a bicycle accident while residing in Florence, Italy in 2022. Valverde was not expected to survive the injury. However, she made a full recovery after her mother visited Acutis's tomb and prayed for his intercession, according to the National Catholic Register. Acutis's tomb, which is located in Assisi, has been visited frequently by Catholics, most notably younger Catholics. Acutis will be joined by the blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati when he is inscribed in the book of saints. Fox News Digital's Laura Carrione contributed to this story.
New York Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Pope Leo Says He'll Canonize First Millennial Saint in September
Pope Leo XIV said on Friday that Carlo Acutis, a teenage computer aficionado dubbed 'God's influencer,' would be canonized on Sept. 7, making him the Roman Catholic Church's first millennial saint. The sainthood ceremony for Carlo, a London-born Italian who died in 2006 at age 15, was originally scheduled for April 27 but was suspended because of Pope Francis' death six days earlier. Described by those who knew him as exceptionally smart and internet savvy, with typical teenage interests, Carlo also had a deeply spiritual side. He attended church every day, set up a website listing miracles attributed to the eucharist and carried out countless acts of kindness, according to his biographers and the people who championed his cause for sainthood. His brief but exemplary life struck a chord with the faithful, and since his 2020 beatification — the penultimate step toward sainthood — his tomb in Assisi has drawn multitudes of pilgims. Many are teenagers themselves, and the planned April 27 canonization date coincided with the Jubilee of Teenagers, one of dozens of events scheduled during the church's 2025 Holy Year that is attracting millions of pilgrims to the Vatican. Carlo's path to sainthood has been meteoric. Whereas in past centuries it took an average of 262 years between death and canonization, in his case it has taken just 19 years from the time he died of leukemia to global veneration. Since his beatification, chapels and schools have been dedicated him throughout the world. 'It's quite amazing,' said the Rev. Anthony Figueirida, who wrote a book about the teenager, whom he described as 'a sign of goodness' in a world filled with bad news. Domenico Sorrentino, the archbishop of Assisi, who has enthusiastically promoted the cause for sainthood, has described Carlo as 'a boy full for life' and of positive, if unfulfilled, intentions. The archbishop said in an interview in April that the teenager gave hope to younger generations who face 'a future that is not so easy to envisage.' During a meeting with cardinals on Friday morning, Leo also decreed that Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at 24 in Turin a century ago, would be canonized alongside Carlo. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the head of the Vatican's saints department, described Frassati as a 'wonderful model of Christian life.' The ceremony is expected to take place in St. Peter's Square.
