A student cycling through the Italian city of Florence falls from her bike. Her head injury is so serious that doctors worry they will have to perform a risky brain surgery. But then she begins to breath, speak and move without help. Ten days later, a brain scan shows that her haemorrhageSevere blood loss from a damaged blood vessel. has disappeared.

According to the Catholic ChurchThe word Catholic means "universal". A Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope. , this was a miracle. Soon after the accident, the student's mother travelled to Assisi, another Italian city, where she asked the teenage boy buried in a tomb to save her daughter's life.¹

The boy was called Carlo Acutis. In 2006 he died of leukaemiaCancer of the white blood cells. at the age of 15. Growing up in London and then Italy, he used the internet to share his devoutEarnestly religious. Catholic faith. After his death, people began praying to Carlo to help with their health problems, and in 2022 he was beatifiedIn the Catholic church, a formal announcement that someone who is dead has lived a holy life. It is one of the steps towards sainthood. by the pope - the first step to sainthood.

The tradition of saints goes back to the beginning of the Church. In the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages was the period in European history that came between ancient and modern times. It lasted from about 500 to about 1500., the tombs and remains of saints were often associated with miracle cures. Nowadays, when a holy person is proposed as a saint, Church authorities need proof of at least two miracles that took place after someone prayed to them for help.

The student cyclist is the second miracle from Carlo, meaning he should be canonisedIn the Catholic Church, to officially declare someone a saint. soon. But critics of sainthood have argued that nobody believes in miracles any more.

According to Austen Ivereigh, the biographer of the current popeThe bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church. , saints inspire everyday believers to have more faith. "Saints show the way God loves, and that love transforms," he argues.²

Sceptics claim that it is ridiculous to keep looking for miracles in the modern world. According to the journalist Simon Jenkins, the practice "drips with medieval nonsense".³

According to a 2018 survey, 70% of young adults aged 16-29 in the UK were non-religious - more than at any other time in history.⁴ Even in America, which has more believers, MillennialsPeople who reached adulthood in the early 21st Century. are as likely to have no religion as to be Christian.⁵

By making this Millennial teenager a saint, the Church hopes to inspire more young people. But it remains to be seen whether celebrating miracle cures is the right way to attract sceptics and doubters.

Should we believe in miracles?

Yes: Saints do not just belong in the Middle Ages. Inspiring people are born in the modern world too. This remarkable boy could encourage more young people to believe.

No: Medical miracles happen all the time. Most doctors have a story about a recovery they cannot explain. That does not mean that there is a supernatural reason, let alone a saint involved.

Or... It is a good idea for the Church to show people that even an ordinary teenager can live an exceptional life. But miracle cures only appeal to people who already believe.

Haemorrhage - Severe blood loss from a damaged blood vessel.

Catholic Church - The word Catholic means "universal". A Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope.

Leukaemia - Cancer of the white blood cells.

Devout - Earnestly religious.

Beatified - In the Catholic church, a formal announcement that someone who is dead has lived a holy life. It is one of the steps towards sainthood.

Middle Ages - The Middle Ages was the period in European history that came between ancient and modern times. It lasted from about 500 to about 1500.

Canonised - In the Catholic Church, to officially declare someone a saint.

Pope - The bishop of Rome and the head of the worldwide Catholic Church.

Millennials - People who reached adulthood in the early 21st Century.