Mother Carmen Rendiles and Dr. José Gregorio Hernández are scheduled to be proclaimed Venezuela’s first saints on Oct. 19, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Mother Carmen of Venezuela/public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will canonize seven blesseds on Oct. 19, including two Venezuelans: José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor,” and María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus.

The canonizations were confirmed by the Holy See Press Office on June 13 following the decision by the pope during the first consistory of his pontificate.

In addition to Hernández and Rendiles, who are highly venerated in Latin America, the blesseds who will be proclaimed saints in October are: Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian bishop and martyr killed in 1915 during the Ottoman genocide; Peter To Rot, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea, martyred during the Japanese occupation in World War II; Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian missionary known for her work among the Shuar Indigenous people of Ecuador; and Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer, former Satanic priest converted to Catholicism, promoter of the recitation of the rosary, and founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

This consistory, held in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, was originally convened by Pope Francis at the end of February while he was hospitalized, although no specific date was set at the time.

At that meeting with cardinals, Leo XIV also decreed that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati would also be canonized along with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7. This will be the first canonization ceremony presided over by the new pontiff.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Mother Carmen Rendiles and Dr. José Gregorio Hernández are scheduled to be proclaimed Venezuela’s first saints on Oct. 19, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Mother Carmen of Venezuela/public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV will canonize seven blesseds on Oct. 19, including two Venezuelans: José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, considered the “doctor of the poor,” and María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez, a nun and founder of the Sister Slaves of Jesus.

The canonizations were confirmed by the Holy See Press Office on June 13 following the decision by the pope during the first consistory of his pontificate.

In addition to Hernández and Rendiles, who are highly venerated in Latin America, the blesseds who will be proclaimed saints in October are: Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, an Armenian bishop and martyr killed in 1915 during the Ottoman genocide; Peter To Rot, a lay catechist from Papua New Guinea, martyred during the Japanese occupation in World War II; Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona; Maria Troncatti, an Italian Salesian missionary known for her work among the Shuar Indigenous people of Ecuador; and Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer, former Satanic priest converted to Catholicism, promoter of the recitation of the rosary, and founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

This consistory, held in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, was originally convened by Pope Francis at the end of February while he was hospitalized, although no specific date was set at the time.

At that meeting with cardinals, Leo XIV also decreed that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati would also be canonized along with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7. This will be the first canonization ceremony presided over by the new pontiff.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:09 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has recognized two miracles attributed to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s intercession that make possible his canonization on Sept. 7. The most recent miracle involved the healing of an American seminarian.

Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”

The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and Third Order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati together with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 as the first new saints declared in his pontificate.

The miracle

Pope Francis recognized the miraculous healing in a decree on Nov. 25, 2024, of a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who was ordained a priest in June 2023.

Father Juan Gutierrez, 38, then a seminarian at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball with other seminarians in 2017. 

Concerned about the long and painful recovery and expenses, Gutierrez headed for the seminary chapel the day after getting an MRI “with a heavy heart.” 

As he prayed, Gutierrez felt inspired to make a novena to Frassati. A few days into the novena, Gutierrez went into the chapel to pray when nobody was there. As he prayed, he recalled feeling an unusual sensation around his injured foot.

“I was praying, and I started to feel a sensation of heat around the area of my injury. And I honestly thought that maybe something was catching on fire, underneath the pews,” Gutierrez recalled at a press conference on Dec. 16, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Parish in Los Angeles County, where he now serves as an associate pastor. 

The seminarian remembered from his experiences with the charismatic renewal movement that heat can be associated with healing from God. He found himself gazing at the tabernacle, weeping. 

“That event touched me deeply,” Gutierrez said.

He was not only touched spiritually, but he was also healed physically. Incredibly, he was able to walk normally again and no longer needed a brace.

Monsignor Robert Sarno, a former official of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints who served as the archiepiscopal delegate in the diocesan process in Los Angeles that examined the healing, told CNA that when Gutierrez went to the orthopedic surgeon a week later, “the orthopedic surgeon, after seeing the MRI and conducting physical investigations, said to him, ‘You must have someone in heaven who likes you.’”

Gutierrez was able to immediately resume playing the sports that he loved without any difficulties. The healing was verified by a diocesan inquiry and the examination of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ medical board, theologians, and the cardinals and bishops.

Sarno noted that it is fitting that a young man playing basketball received the healing given that Frassati was known for his love of sport and outdoor activities.

‘To the heights’ of holiness

Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.

Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.

On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase, “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.

Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.

Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.”

For Gutierrez, his healing is a reminder “that prayer works.” 

“The saints can help us to pray for our needs and that there is somebody listening to our prayers,” he said. “God is always listening to our prayers.”

A version of this story was originally published on Nov. 24, 2024, and was updated on June 13, 2025.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 17:09 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has recognized two miracles attributed to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s intercession that make possible his canonization on Sept. 7. The most recent miracle involved the healing of an American seminarian.

Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”

The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and Third Order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati together with Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 as the first new saints declared in his pontificate.

The miracle

Pope Francis recognized the miraculous healing in a decree on Nov. 25, 2024, of a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who was ordained a priest in June 2023.

Father Juan Gutierrez, 38, then a seminarian at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball with other seminarians in 2017. 

Concerned about the long and painful recovery and expenses, Gutierrez headed for the seminary chapel the day after getting an MRI “with a heavy heart.” 

As he prayed, Gutierrez felt inspired to make a novena to Frassati. A few days into the novena, Gutierrez went into the chapel to pray when nobody was there. As he prayed, he recalled feeling an unusual sensation around his injured foot.

“I was praying, and I started to feel a sensation of heat around the area of my injury. And I honestly thought that maybe something was catching on fire, underneath the pews,” Gutierrez recalled at a press conference on Dec. 16, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Parish in Los Angeles County, where he now serves as an associate pastor. 

The seminarian remembered from his experiences with the charismatic renewal movement that heat can be associated with healing from God. He found himself gazing at the tabernacle, weeping. 

“That event touched me deeply,” Gutierrez said.

He was not only touched spiritually, but he was also healed physically. Incredibly, he was able to walk normally again and no longer needed a brace.

Monsignor Robert Sarno, a former official of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints who served as the archiepiscopal delegate in the diocesan process in Los Angeles that examined the healing, told CNA that when Gutierrez went to the orthopedic surgeon a week later, “the orthopedic surgeon, after seeing the MRI and conducting physical investigations, said to him, ‘You must have someone in heaven who likes you.’”

Gutierrez was able to immediately resume playing the sports that he loved without any difficulties. The healing was verified by a diocesan inquiry and the examination of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ medical board, theologians, and the cardinals and bishops.

Sarno noted that it is fitting that a young man playing basketball received the healing given that Frassati was known for his love of sport and outdoor activities.

‘To the heights’ of holiness

Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.

Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.

On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase, “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.

Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.

Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.”

For Gutierrez, his healing is a reminder “that prayer works.” 

“The saints can help us to pray for our needs and that there is somebody listening to our prayers,” he said. “God is always listening to our prayers.”

A version of this story was originally published on Nov. 24, 2024, and was updated on June 13, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV presides over the first ordinary public consistory of cardinals of his pontificate on June 13, 2025, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 16:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV stated that “the gravest poverty is not to know God” and that having him accompany us on the journey of life puts material wealth into perspective, because “we discover the real treasure that we need.”

“Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty — above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him,” the pontiff noted.

The Holy Father made these observations in his message, released June 13 by the Vatican press office, for the ninth World Day of the Poor, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16.

As Pope Francis did when he decried the globalization of indifference, Pope Leo warned of the risk of “becoming hardened and resigned” in the face of new forms of impoverishment.

He thus framed the social responsibility of promoting the common good, which characterizes the Catholic Church, as grounded in “God’s creative act, which gives everyone a share in the goods of the earth,” and like these goods, “the fruits of human labor should be equally accessible to all.” 

The pontiff quoted St. Augustine on the subject: “You give bread to a hungry person; but it would be better if none were hungry, so that you would have no need to give it away. You clothe the naked, but would that all were clothed and that there be no need for supply this lack.”

The Holy Father made it clear that helping the poor is “a matter of justice before it is a question of charity.” He also noted how when we encounter poor or impoverished people, sometimes “we too may have less than before and are losing what once seemed secure: a home, sufficient food for each day, access to health care and a good education, information, religious freedom, and freedom of expression.”

For the pontiff, the World Day of the Poor seeks to remind the Church that the poor are “at the heart of all our pastoral activity,” not only of its ”charitable work but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims.”

“God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories, and their faces,” he noted in the message he signed June 13, the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the poor.

In fact, in the text he made it clear that the poor “are not a distraction for the Church but our beloved brothers and sisters.” In this sense, he emphasized that “by their lives, their words, and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father emphasized in his message that the poor are not mere “recipients” of the Church’s pastoral care but rather defined them as “creative subjects” who challenge us “to find novel ways of living out the Gospel today.”

In this way, he pointed out that every form of poverty is a call “to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.”

The pope noted how people without resources can become witnesses of a “a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability, and marginalization.”

“They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere,” he added.

Thus, he indicated that when God is placed at the center as “our first and only hope,” it is precisely when “we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope.”

Worst discrimination suffered by poor is ‘lack of spiritual care’

The pontiff cited the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who stated that the worst discrimination suffered by the poor is “the lack of spiritual care.”

“This is a rule of faith and the secret of hope: All this earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity, however important, cannot bring happiness to our hearts,” he emphasized.

The Holy Father also reflected on the “circular relationship” that exists between the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. “Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now,” he said.

Pope Leo therefore affirmed that charity is a reality that “engages us and guides our decisions toward the common good” and pointed out that “those who lack charity not only lack faith and hope; they also rob their neighbors of hope.”

Referring specifically to the Christian hope that the Word of God proclaims, he noted that it is a “certainty at every step of life’s journey” because it does not depend on human strength “but on the promise of God, who is always faithful.”

For this reason, he said that Christians, from the beginning, have sought to identify hope with the symbol of the anchor, which provides stability and security. “Amid life’s trials, our hope is inspired by the firm and reassuring certainty of God’s love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That hope does not disappoint,” he reiterated.

Charity is the greatest social commandment of the Church

Therefore, Leo emphasized that the biblical summons to hope entails “the duty to shoulder our responsibilities in history, without hesitation,” noting that “charity, in fact, is the greatest social commandment,” as stated in No. 1889 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The pontiff explained that “poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated. In the meantime, each of us is called to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity, just as many saints have done over the centuries.”

For the pope, hospitals and schools are institutions created to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized, and they “should be part of every country’s public policy.” However, he lamented that “wars and inequalities often prevent this from happening.”

He also highlighted as concrete examples of hope “group homes, communities for minors, centers for listening and acceptance, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and schools for low-income students.” 

And, he added: “How many of these quiet signs of hope often go unnoticed and yet are so important for setting aside our indifference and inspiring others to become involved in various forms of volunteer work!”

Finally, he called for promoting the development of policies to combat “forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor.”

“Labor, education, housing, and health are the foundations of a security that will never be attained by the use of arms. I express my appreciation for those initiatives that already exist, and for the efforts demonstrated daily on the international level by great numbers of men and women of goodwill,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Leo XIV presides over the first ordinary public consistory of cardinals of his pontificate on June 13, 2025, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 16:39 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV stated that “the gravest poverty is not to know God” and that having him accompany us on the journey of life puts material wealth into perspective, because “we discover the real treasure that we need.”

“Wealth often disappoints and can lead to tragic situations of poverty — above all the poverty born of the failure to recognize our need for God and of the attempt to live without him,” the pontiff noted.

The Holy Father made these observations in his message, released June 13 by the Vatican press office, for the ninth World Day of the Poor, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16.

As Pope Francis did when he decried the globalization of indifference, Pope Leo warned of the risk of “becoming hardened and resigned” in the face of new forms of impoverishment.

He thus framed the social responsibility of promoting the common good, which characterizes the Catholic Church, as grounded in “God’s creative act, which gives everyone a share in the goods of the earth,” and like these goods, “the fruits of human labor should be equally accessible to all.” 

The pontiff quoted St. Augustine on the subject: “You give bread to a hungry person; but it would be better if none were hungry, so that you would have no need to give it away. You clothe the naked, but would that all were clothed and that there be no need for supply this lack.”

The Holy Father made it clear that helping the poor is “a matter of justice before it is a question of charity.” He also noted how when we encounter poor or impoverished people, sometimes “we too may have less than before and are losing what once seemed secure: a home, sufficient food for each day, access to health care and a good education, information, religious freedom, and freedom of expression.”

For the pontiff, the World Day of the Poor seeks to remind the Church that the poor are “at the heart of all our pastoral activity,” not only of its ”charitable work but also of the message that she celebrates and proclaims.”

“God took on their poverty in order to enrich us through their voices, their stories, and their faces,” he noted in the message he signed June 13, the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of the poor.

In fact, in the text he made it clear that the poor “are not a distraction for the Church but our beloved brothers and sisters.” In this sense, he emphasized that “by their lives, their words, and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel.”

The Holy Father emphasized in his message that the poor are not mere “recipients” of the Church’s pastoral care but rather defined them as “creative subjects” who challenge us “to find novel ways of living out the Gospel today.”

In this way, he pointed out that every form of poverty is a call “to experience the Gospel concretely and to offer effective signs of hope.”

The pope noted how people without resources can become witnesses of a “a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability, and marginalization.”

“They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere,” he added.

Thus, he indicated that when God is placed at the center as “our first and only hope,” it is precisely when “we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope.”

Worst discrimination suffered by poor is ‘lack of spiritual care’

The pontiff cited the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who stated that the worst discrimination suffered by the poor is “the lack of spiritual care.”

“This is a rule of faith and the secret of hope: All this earth’s goods, material realities, worldly pleasures, economic prosperity, however important, cannot bring happiness to our hearts,” he emphasized.

The Holy Father also reflected on the “circular relationship” that exists between the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. “Hope is born of faith, which nourishes and sustains it on the foundation of charity, the mother of all virtues. All of us need charity, here and now,” he said.

Pope Leo therefore affirmed that charity is a reality that “engages us and guides our decisions toward the common good” and pointed out that “those who lack charity not only lack faith and hope; they also rob their neighbors of hope.”

Referring specifically to the Christian hope that the Word of God proclaims, he noted that it is a “certainty at every step of life’s journey” because it does not depend on human strength “but on the promise of God, who is always faithful.”

For this reason, he said that Christians, from the beginning, have sought to identify hope with the symbol of the anchor, which provides stability and security. “Amid life’s trials, our hope is inspired by the firm and reassuring certainty of God’s love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That hope does not disappoint,” he reiterated.

Charity is the greatest social commandment of the Church

Therefore, Leo emphasized that the biblical summons to hope entails “the duty to shoulder our responsibilities in history, without hesitation,” noting that “charity, in fact, is the greatest social commandment,” as stated in No. 1889 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The pontiff explained that “poverty has structural causes that must be addressed and eliminated. In the meantime, each of us is called to offer new signs of hope that will bear witness to Christian charity, just as many saints have done over the centuries.”

For the pope, hospitals and schools are institutions created to reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized, and they “should be part of every country’s public policy.” However, he lamented that “wars and inequalities often prevent this from happening.”

He also highlighted as concrete examples of hope “group homes, communities for minors, centers for listening and acceptance, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and schools for low-income students.” 

And, he added: “How many of these quiet signs of hope often go unnoticed and yet are so important for setting aside our indifference and inspiring others to become involved in various forms of volunteer work!”

Finally, he called for promoting the development of policies to combat “forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor.”

“Labor, education, housing, and health are the foundations of a security that will never be attained by the use of arms. I express my appreciation for those initiatives that already exist, and for the efforts demonstrated daily on the international level by great numbers of men and women of goodwill,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan stands at the altar during Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on May 26, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

The number of adults in the U.S. who believe religion is experiencing a resurgence in America has gone up significantly, recent polling has found.

“Thirty-four percent of U.S. adults believe religion is increasing its influence in American life, similar to the 35% measured in December but up from 20% a year ago,” the latest Gallup poll reads.

Gallup conducts polling on religious influence at least twice per year as part of an effort to gauge “U.S. religious attitudes and behavior.” 

Last year, 75% of adults said they believed religion was losing its influence on American society. While the majority of Americans still maintain this belief, according to the poll, that number has come down to 59%. 

“These recent shifts represent a departure from the trend over the past 15 years that has generally seen larger percentages of Americans saying religious influence is decreasing rather than increasing,” the Gallup poll noted.

Republican presidential victory, first American pope possible factors

In its analysis of the recent positive trend regarding religion, Gallup noted the election of U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV on May 8 as having taken place during its most recent May 1–18 survey period. 

However, it pointed out that the pope’s election took place several months after the earlier spike in December. 

More likely, Gallup said in its analysis, is the possibility that “the change in religious attitudes is a reaction to the Republican sweep of the federal government in last fall’s elections.” 

The polling outfit noted that a similar spike had occurred after Republicans won Congress for the first time in 40 years in 1994, but not in the more recent GOP victories in 2000, 2010, and 2016. 

Gallup also observed that two of the most recent low points of confidence in religion’s increase — 18% in 2009 and 16% in 2021 — were both “the first readings after Democrats won control of the federal government.” 

Polling also found that although all major subgroups “are significantly more likely to believe that religious influence is increasing,” Republicans showed the largest increase of any subgroup, jumping from 11% to 35%. 

Democratic and liberal respondents, in comparison, jumped nine points from 32% to 41%, while independents increased from 21% to 31%. 

“These results suggest that election outcomes, under certain circumstances, may shape Americans’ perceptions of religion’s influence by making the connection between politics and religion more prominent,” Gallup stated. 

According to Gallup, the U.S. has experienced numerous spikes in reports of increased religious sentiments, particularly after certain major events in recent decades. 

One of “most notable” increases Gallup said it recorded took place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when 71% of Americans polled in December 2001 said they believed religious influence was going up. 

This was up from 39% in February that same year and was the highest recorded number since Gallup began its recordings in 1957. 

Another surge in religiosity was recorded amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number jumped from 19% in December 2019 to 38% in April 2020. This number was the highest recorded since 2006.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan stands at the altar during Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on May 26, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:39 pm (CNA).

The number of adults in the U.S. who believe religion is experiencing a resurgence in America has gone up significantly, recent polling has found.

“Thirty-four percent of U.S. adults believe religion is increasing its influence in American life, similar to the 35% measured in December but up from 20% a year ago,” the latest Gallup poll reads.

Gallup conducts polling on religious influence at least twice per year as part of an effort to gauge “U.S. religious attitudes and behavior.” 

Last year, 75% of adults said they believed religion was losing its influence on American society. While the majority of Americans still maintain this belief, according to the poll, that number has come down to 59%. 

“These recent shifts represent a departure from the trend over the past 15 years that has generally seen larger percentages of Americans saying religious influence is decreasing rather than increasing,” the Gallup poll noted.

Republican presidential victory, first American pope possible factors

In its analysis of the recent positive trend regarding religion, Gallup noted the election of U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV on May 8 as having taken place during its most recent May 1–18 survey period. 

However, it pointed out that the pope’s election took place several months after the earlier spike in December. 

More likely, Gallup said in its analysis, is the possibility that “the change in religious attitudes is a reaction to the Republican sweep of the federal government in last fall’s elections.” 

The polling outfit noted that a similar spike had occurred after Republicans won Congress for the first time in 40 years in 1994, but not in the more recent GOP victories in 2000, 2010, and 2016. 

Gallup also observed that two of the most recent low points of confidence in religion’s increase — 18% in 2009 and 16% in 2021 — were both “the first readings after Democrats won control of the federal government.” 

Polling also found that although all major subgroups “are significantly more likely to believe that religious influence is increasing,” Republicans showed the largest increase of any subgroup, jumping from 11% to 35%. 

Democratic and liberal respondents, in comparison, jumped nine points from 32% to 41%, while independents increased from 21% to 31%. 

“These results suggest that election outcomes, under certain circumstances, may shape Americans’ perceptions of religion’s influence by making the connection between politics and religion more prominent,” Gallup stated. 

According to Gallup, the U.S. has experienced numerous spikes in reports of increased religious sentiments, particularly after certain major events in recent decades. 

One of “most notable” increases Gallup said it recorded took place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when 71% of Americans polled in December 2001 said they believed religious influence was going up. 

This was up from 39% in February that same year and was the highest recorded number since Gallup began its recordings in 1957. 

Another surge in religiosity was recorded amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number jumped from 19% in December 2019 to 38% in April 2020. This number was the highest recorded since 2006.

Blessed Carlo Acutis. / Credit: Diocese of Assisi

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:09 pm (CNA).

It’s official! Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as the first new saints of his pontificate. A gamer and computer coder who loved the Eucharist, Carlo Acutis will be the first millennial Catholic saint.

So who is Blessed Carlo? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his father was working. Just a few months later, he moved with his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, to Milan, Italy, where he grew up.

2. Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager. Before his death in 2006, he offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying: “I offer all of my suffering to the Lord for the pope and for the Church in order not to go to purgatory but to go straight to heaven.”

3. From a young age, Carlo had a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. Antonia Salzano, his mom, said that before Carlo, she went to Mass only for her first Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding. But as a young child, Carlo loved to pray the rosary. After he made his first Communion, he went to Mass as often as possible at the parish across from his elementary school. Carlo’s love for the Eucharist also inspired a deep conversion for his mother. According to the postulator promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.” Salzano spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” in October 2023 about her son’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She said: “He used to say, ‘There are queues in front of a concert, in front of a football match, but I don’t see these queues in front of the Blessed Sacrament’ ... So, for him the Eucharist was the center of his life.”

4. Carlo’s witness of faith as a child led adults to convert and be baptized. Rajesh Mohur, who worked for the Acutis family as an au pair when Carlo was young, converted from Hinduism to Catholicism because of Carlo’s witness. Carlo taught Mohur how to pray the rosary and told him about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Mohur said that one of the things that most impressed him as a non-Christian was the witness of Carlo’s love and concern for the poor — how he interacted with the homeless man who would sit at the entrance of the church and would bring tupperware dishes filled with food out to people living on the streets.

5. Carlo wasn’t afraid to defend Church teaching, even in situations when his classmates disagreed with him. Many of Carlo’s high school classmates remember Carlo giving a passionate defense for the protection of life from the moment of conception when there was a classroom discussion about abortion. 

6. Carlo was a faithful friend. He was known for standing up for kids at school who got bullied, particularly a classmate with special needs. When a friend’s parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis’ family life. With his friends, he spoke about the importance of going to Mass and confession, human dignity, and chastity.

7. Carlo was fascinated with computer coding and taught himself some of the basic coding languages, including C and C++. He used his computer skills and internet savvy to help his family put together an exhibition on Eucharistic miracles that has gone on to be displayed at thousands of parishes on five continents. His spiritual director has attested that Carlo was personally convinced that the scientific evidence from Eucharistic miracles would help people to realize that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist and come back to Mass.

8. Carlo loved playing video games. His mother recalls that he liked Nintendo Game Boy and GameCube as well as PlayStation and Xbox. He had conversations with his gaming buddies about the importance of going to Mass and confession and limited his video game playing to no more than two hours per week. Carlo also liked Spider-Man and Pokémon.

9. Carlo died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi. Initially, there were reports that Carlo’s body was found to be incorrupt, but the bishop of Assisi clarified before his beatification that his body was not incorrupt. His body lies in repose in a glass tomb in Assisi where he can be seen in jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers. Thousands came to pray at his tomb at the time of his beatification in October 2020.

   📹VIDEO | Highlights of the Beatification Mass of Carlo Acutis celebrated in Assisi, Italy. His parents and siblings attended the ceremony. His heart was presented as a relic. Blessed #CarloAcutis, pray for us! pic.twitter.com/GcZog96vyZ

   — EWTN News (@EWTNews) October 10, 2020

10. Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession in a decree on May 23, 2024. The miracle involved the healing of a 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde who was near death after seriously injuring her head in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022. The first miracle that led to his beatification involved the healing of a 3-year-old boy in Brazil in 2013 who had been diagnosed with a malformation of his pancreas since birth.

This article was originally published Oct. 20, 2020, and was updated June 13, 2025.

Blessed Carlo Acutis. / Credit: Diocese of Assisi

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2025 / 15:09 pm (CNA).

It’s official! Pope Leo XIV will canonize Blessed Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7 together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as the first new saints of his pontificate. A gamer and computer coder who loved the Eucharist, Carlo Acutis will be the first millennial Catholic saint.

So who is Blessed Carlo? Here’s what you need to know:

1. Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his father was working. Just a few months later, he moved with his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, to Milan, Italy, where he grew up.

2. Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager. Before his death in 2006, he offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying: “I offer all of my suffering to the Lord for the pope and for the Church in order not to go to purgatory but to go straight to heaven.”

3. From a young age, Carlo had a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. Antonia Salzano, his mom, said that before Carlo, she went to Mass only for her first Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding. But as a young child, Carlo loved to pray the rosary. After he made his first Communion, he went to Mass as often as possible at the parish across from his elementary school. Carlo’s love for the Eucharist also inspired a deep conversion for his mother. According to the postulator promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.” Salzano spoke to “EWTN News Nightly” in October 2023 about her son’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She said: “He used to say, ‘There are queues in front of a concert, in front of a football match, but I don’t see these queues in front of the Blessed Sacrament’ ... So, for him the Eucharist was the center of his life.”

4. Carlo’s witness of faith as a child led adults to convert and be baptized. Rajesh Mohur, who worked for the Acutis family as an au pair when Carlo was young, converted from Hinduism to Catholicism because of Carlo’s witness. Carlo taught Mohur how to pray the rosary and told him about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Mohur said that one of the things that most impressed him as a non-Christian was the witness of Carlo’s love and concern for the poor — how he interacted with the homeless man who would sit at the entrance of the church and would bring tupperware dishes filled with food out to people living on the streets.

5. Carlo wasn’t afraid to defend Church teaching, even in situations when his classmates disagreed with him. Many of Carlo’s high school classmates remember Carlo giving a passionate defense for the protection of life from the moment of conception when there was a classroom discussion about abortion. 

6. Carlo was a faithful friend. He was known for standing up for kids at school who got bullied, particularly a classmate with special needs. When a friend’s parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis’ family life. With his friends, he spoke about the importance of going to Mass and confession, human dignity, and chastity.

7. Carlo was fascinated with computer coding and taught himself some of the basic coding languages, including C and C++. He used his computer skills and internet savvy to help his family put together an exhibition on Eucharistic miracles that has gone on to be displayed at thousands of parishes on five continents. His spiritual director has attested that Carlo was personally convinced that the scientific evidence from Eucharistic miracles would help people to realize that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist and come back to Mass.

8. Carlo loved playing video games. His mother recalls that he liked Nintendo Game Boy and GameCube as well as PlayStation and Xbox. He had conversations with his gaming buddies about the importance of going to Mass and confession and limited his video game playing to no more than two hours per week. Carlo also liked Spider-Man and Pokémon.

9. Carlo died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi. Initially, there were reports that Carlo’s body was found to be incorrupt, but the bishop of Assisi clarified before his beatification that his body was not incorrupt. His body lies in repose in a glass tomb in Assisi where he can be seen in jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers. Thousands came to pray at his tomb at the time of his beatification in October 2020.

   📹VIDEO | Highlights of the Beatification Mass of Carlo Acutis celebrated in Assisi, Italy. His parents and siblings attended the ceremony. His heart was presented as a relic. Blessed #CarloAcutis, pray for us! pic.twitter.com/GcZog96vyZ

   — EWTN News (@EWTNews) October 10, 2020

10. Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Carlo’s intercession in a decree on May 23, 2024. The miracle involved the healing of a 21-year-old girl from Costa Rica named Valeria Valverde who was near death after seriously injuring her head in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022. The first miracle that led to his beatification involved the healing of a 3-year-old boy in Brazil in 2013 who had been diagnosed with a malformation of his pancreas since birth.

This article was originally published Oct. 20, 2020, and was updated June 13, 2025.