THE CATHOLIC Church proclaimed two new saints on Sunday, Sept. 7, at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV canonized St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis, introducing them to the Church as models of youthful holiness in the modern age.
Speaking before thousands of pilgrims at the canonization Mass, Pope Leo urged Catholics to emulate Frassati and Acutis, who led their lives in deep devotion, charity and joy.
“Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially the youth, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upward and make them masterpieces,” Pope Leo said in his homily.
“They encourage us with their words: ‘Not I, but God,’ as Carlo used to say, and Pier Giorgio, ‘If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end,” the Pope added.
The two saints will be commemorated yearly on their death anniversaries: Frassati’s feast will be marked on July 4 while Acutis’s feast is on Oct. 12.
Frassati, a Turin, Italy-native university student and member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, was known for his active life of prayer, social advocacy, and service to the poor.
“Even today, Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality,” Pope Leo said. “Faith for him was not private, but lived out through service, friendship, and joy.”
Acutis, a London-born Italian teenager and computer enthusiast, created an online catalog of Eucharistic miracles and used digital tools to evangelize.
“Carlo used to say, ‘In front of the sun, you get a tan; in front of the Eucharist, you become a saint,’” the pontiff said.
Pope Leo said both saints showed their love for God through simple acts that are available to everyone: “daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic adoration.”
Their peace in suffering and unwavering hope, the Pope said, showed that holiness is not found in extraordinary deeds, but in the consistent offering of daily life to God.
“This is the simple but winning formula of their holiness. It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven,” the Pope said.
Frassati was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990 and was dubbed the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes.”
He was a political and social activist, and dedicated himself to the service of the poor and the sick by joining the St. Vincent de Paul Society at the age of 17.
Frassati died in 1925 at the age of 24 due to polio, which he contracted from his service to the sick.
He is the patron saint of the youth and athletes.
Acutis, being efficient with computers, developed a website dedicated to spreading the devotion to the Eucharist by cataloging Eucharistic miracles worldwide.
He died of leukemia in 2006, at the age of 15.
Acutis is the patron saint of the internet and the first millennial saint.
The canonizations of the two new saints were the first of Pope Leo’s pontificate.
