If you’re looking for a name to drop at your next trivia night or just curious about who the Catholic Church most recently "promoted" to the big leagues, you’ve probably heard about the "Internet Saint." His name is Carlo Acutis. But here is where it gets a little messy. Depending on when you check the news, the answer to who is the most recent saint changes faster than a smartphone software update.
Honestly, it's not just about one person.
The Church usually canonizes people in batches, like a graduation ceremony. On October 19, 2025, a group of seven people were officially declared saints by Pope Leo XIV. This group included figures like Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, a legendary "doctor of the poor" from Venezuela, and Bartolo Longo, a former satanic priest who turned his life around. If we are talking about the absolute latest date on the calendar, these seven individuals hold the current title.
The Millennial Everyone Is Talking About
But let's be real. When people ask about the most recent saint, they are usually looking for Saint Carlo Acutis.
He was canonized just a month prior, on September 7, 2025. Why does he get all the headlines? Because he’s the first Millennial saint. He was born in 1991 and died in 2006. He liked Pokémon. He played PlayStation. He wore Nike sneakers. For a Church that often feels like it's stuck in the 1500s, Carlo is a massive deal.
He didn't live in a cave. He lived in Milan. He used his self-taught coding skills to build a website cataloging every Eucharistic miracle in the world. Basically, he’s the patron saint of the digital age.
Wait, Who is Pope Leo XIV?
You might have noticed a name that doesn't look familiar: Pope Leo XIV.
If you haven't been keeping up with Vatican news, there was a major shift in early 2025. Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost—an American-Peruvian—who took the name Leo XIV on May 8, 2025.
This leadership change actually delayed Carlo Acutis' big day. Originally, Francis was supposed to canonize him in April 2025. Instead, Leo XIV handled the honors in September, making Carlo and his "classmate" Pier Giorgio Frassati the first saints of the new papacy.
The "Batch" of October 2025: The Actual Most Recent Saints
While Carlo gets the fame, the October 19 group is technically "newer" in terms of the official canon. This group is incredibly diverse. You’ve got:
- José Gregorio Hernández: A Venezuelan physician who died in 1919. He was known for treating the poor for free and is basically a national hero in South America.
- Bartolo Longo: His story is wild. He was a lawyer who got heavily involved in the occult and became a "high priest" of a satanic cult before returning to Catholicism and dedicating his life to the Rosary.
- Peter To Rot: A lay catechist from Papua New Guinea who was martyred during World War II.
- Vincenza Maria Poloni: An Italian nun who founded the Sisters of Mercy of Verona.
There were also three others in that specific ceremony: Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, and Maria Troncatti.
So, if you want to be a pedant, any of these seven individuals are the "most recent." But if you want to talk about the person who has most recently captured the world's imagination, it’s Carlo.
Why Carlo Acutis Matters So Much
Carlo’s canonization was a vibe shift for the Church. Most saints lived hundreds of years ago. They are depicted in oil paintings with flowing robes. Carlo has a "tomb" in Assisi, but he’s lying there in jeans, a fleece pullover, and tennis shoes.
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He died of leukemia at just 15 years old.
What makes him the "most recent" in the hearts of many is his relatability. He reportedly told his mom, "I am happy to die because I have lived my life without wasting a minute on those things which do not please God." He wasn't some perfect, untouchable figure. He struggled with things. He liked video games, but he tried to limit himself to one hour a week because he didn't want to become a slave to the screen.
That’s a struggle most people in 2026 can actually understand.
The "Miracles" Requirement
You don't just become a saint because you were a nice person who liked computers. The Vatican requires "proof" in the form of miracles.
For Carlo, the "second miracle" that sealed the deal for his 2025 canonization involved a young woman from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde. In 2022, she had a horrific bicycle accident in Florence and suffered a major brain injury. Doctors said she was basically gone. Her mother went to Carlo’s tomb in Assisi, prayed, and left a note.
The next day, Valeria started breathing on her own. A few weeks later, she was walking.
Scientists and doctors at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints (yeah, that’s a real office) reviewed the medical records and couldn't find a natural explanation. That’s the "evidence" required to move from "Blessed" to "Saint."
Misconceptions About the "Last" Saint
A lot of people think the most recent saint is still Mother Teresa or John Paul II.
Nope.
Mother Teresa was canonized back in 2016. John Paul II in 2014. Before the 2025 rush, Mama Antula (Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa) was a big story in early 2024. She was the first female saint from Argentina, and Pope Francis made a huge deal of her because she was a "rebel" laywoman who kept the Jesuit traditions alive when the order was banned.
But in the timeline of "who is the most recent saint" as of today, we are firmly in the era of the 2025 canonizations.
How a Saint is Made (The Quick Version)
It’s not an overnight process. It usually takes decades, or even centuries.
- Servant of God: The local bishop starts an investigation.
- Venerable: The Vatican decides the person lived a life of "heroic virtue."
- Blessed (Beatification): One miracle is confirmed.
- Saint (Canonization): A second miracle is confirmed.
Carlo Acutis moved through this process like a speedrunner. He died in 2006 and was a saint by 2025. That’s nineteen years. In Church time, that’s a blink of an eye.
Why You Should Care
Whether you're religious or not, the "most recent saint" usually reflects what the Church thinks the world needs right now. In the 1900s, it was often martyrs or cloistered nuns. In 2026, the focus is clearly on the youth, the digital world, and "everyday" people like doctors and tech-savvy teens.
It’s an attempt to show that being "holy" doesn't mean you have to be boring or live in the middle ages.
Practical Next Steps
If you want to keep track of this or visit the sites associated with these new saints, here is what you can actually do:
- Visit Assisi: If you’re in Italy, skip the crowded tourist traps for a day and go to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. That’s where Carlo Acutis is. You can see him in his Nikes. It's weirdly modern and definitely worth the trip.
- Check the Official Vatican Bulletin: The Bollettino is the only place to get the "official" word. If you see a headline about a new saint, check there first to see if they’ve actually been canonized or just "beatified." There’s a difference.
- Follow the Digital Museum: Carlo’s original website is still up. It’s a bit of a time capsule of 2000-era web design, but it’s the primary source of his work.
- Watch for the 2026 Jubilee: The Church is still in the tail end of major celebrations. Expect more announcements regarding "Blessed" individuals moving toward sainthood by the end of this year.
The title of "most recent saint" is a moving target. Right now, it belongs to the October 2025 group, but the shadow of the "Influencer Saint" Carlo Acutis is what defines this current era of the Church.