Pope Leo XIV Canonizes Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, Inspiring Models of Young Holiness

St. Peter’s Square became a place of joy and history on Sept 7 as Pope Leo XIV canonized two young men whose lives continue to inspire today’s Catholics: Pier Giorgio Frassati, remembered as the “man of the Beatitudes” and patron of young lay Catholics, and Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, often called “God’s influencer.”

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from every continent filled the square for the canonization Mass, joining the Pope in celebrating the witness of these two saints whose holiness was forged in everyday life. In his homily, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the Book of Wisdom and the Gospel of Luke, warning that “the greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan.” 

He invited especially young people to embrace discipleship with courage: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27).

The canonization takes place during the Jubilee Year 2025, marked by the theme Pilgrims of Hope, which has drawn millions of faithful to Rome. By raising to the altars a student from Turin in the early 20th century and a teenager from Milan in the digital age, the Pope presented two saints who speak powerfully to the hopes, struggles, and dreams of today’s youth.

Frassati, an active layman immersed in Catholic Action, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and student associations, is remembered for his joyful charity. Friends nicknamed him the “Frassati Transport Company” as he hauled food and supplies to the poor of Turin.  

Acutis, who died at 15 in 2006, placed the Eucharist at the heart of his life and used his computer skills to create a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles worldwide. He often said: “In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint.”

Pope Leo XIV stressed that both saints achieved holiness not through extraordinary feats but through simple fidelity: daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, frequent confession, devotion to Mary, and quiet acts of charity. 
Even in sickness and early death, they radiated faith and joy. “Saints Pier Giorgio and Carlo are an invitation to us, especially to young people, not to squander our lives, but to make them masterpieces,” the Pope said.

Their canonization underscores the Church’s recognition of young laypeople as authentic witnesses of the Gospel. It also affirms the “holiness next door” that Pope Francis once described, holiness lived in ordinary settings through prayer, service, and love.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the Jubilee Year, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to draw inspiration from the new saints. “This is the winning formula of holiness: not I, but God,” he concluded, echoing Acutis’s words, while recalling Frassati’s motto: “To the heights!”