New Young Saints!
On Sunday, September 7th, in front of the Acutis family and an estimated 70,000 people in attendance in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV declared two young Italian men, Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) and Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), as saints. These two young men are the first canonizations of Pope Leo’s pontificate.
Despite being born nearly a century apart, their love of the Lord unites them. They climbed mountains and served the poor post-war, coded websites and evangelized from a laptop. Though both were raised in homes with non-practicing family members, they were drawn to the Eucharist from a young age.
Carlo Acutis
At five years of age, Carlo Acutis made his first personal consecration to the Virgin Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii. He began attending daily Mass at the age of seven shortly after his first communion. He famously called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven.” Carlo created a website, the Eucharistic Miracles of the World, which documents more than 150 miracles in almost 20 different languages. He sold toys to help the poor, gave up eating Nutella as a sacrifice and volunteered at a Milan soup kitchen. At age 15, Carlo died from leukemia.
Photo from https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe
Pier Giorgio Frassati
Pier Giorgio Frassati consecrated himself to Mary the Blessed Virgin at age 17. Though his father was agnostic, Pier Giorgio joined the Marian Sodality and Apostleship of Prayer at the age of 12. He also requested permission to receive daily communion, which was very rare during that time. At 22, while at a Eucharistic congress, he told participants, “I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharist table as often as possible. Feed on this bread of the angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles.” He was known to have kept a rosary in his pocket and prayed it daily.
Photo from Wikipedia
Most Rev. Domenico Sorrentino (Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino) said Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis were canonized together as “a sign of providence that puts the holiness of ordinary life back at the centre of the church’s attention, especially for new generations.”
Katie McGrady, a SiriusXM host and Catholic youth speaker, noted that Carlos’ and Pier Gorgio’s appeal to young people is clear. She stated, “Carlos and Pier Giorgio show young people that not only is holiness possible, but it is found in the ordinary components of our lives. It’s in the hiking and computer coding and the hanging out with friends and in the finding chances to be generous that we can follow and love Jesus.”
Their lives were captivating, and their love of the Lord is magnetic. Let us praise their story and open the doors for the Eucharist to enter all aspects of our lives, wherever that may be.
Karen Rossiter, National Chairperson of Faith