Editorial

Church’s newest saints offer witness, formula for holiness

“In this setting, today we look to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis: a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him.”
—Pope Leo XIV in his homily at the canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis

We, like millions of other people of faith around the world, rejoice in thanksgiving for the canonization of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7.

St. Pier Giorgio was born on April 6, 1901, in Turin, Italy, and died on July 4, 1925, of polio at the age of 24. St. Carlo was born to Italian parents on May 3, 1991, in London and died in Monza, Italy, on Oct. 12, 2006, of leukemia at the age of 15.

The Sept. 7 liturgy drew an estimated 80,000 faithful to Rome for this historic moment of two holy young people who, in their short lives, offered shining examples of faith for all generations. They were the first saints canonized during Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.

St. Carlo Acutis, known as “God’s influencer,” used technology to share his love of the Catholic faith. He created a website documenting eucharistic miracles, and his life reminds all of us—especially today’s younger generation—that holiness is possible no matter what your age. He is also the Church’s first millennial saint.

St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was called a “Man of the Beatitudes,” lived a life of joy, service and social action. He loved hiking, mountain climbing and assisting the poor.

Faith guided both Carlo and Pier Giorgio, and answering the call to Christian discipleship revolutionized how they lived their heroic lives of virtue.

Our newest saints offered themselves to God through their joys, sufferings and challenges. Both were disciples of charity who had a great devotion to the Eucharist. And in their lives—and death—they knew the cost of discipleship.

“Pier Giorgio encountered the Lord through school and Church groups—Catholic Action, the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, the FUCI [Italian Catholic University Federation], the Dominican Third Order—and he bore witness to God with his joy of living and of being a Christian in prayer, friendship and charity,” Pope Leo said in his homily at the canonization Mass. “Even today, Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality. For him, faith was not a private devotion, but it was driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations.”

St. Carlo’s life, too, was guided by his faith.

“Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia—who are here today with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele—and then at school, and above all in the sacraments celebrated in the parish community,” the pope continued. “He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.”

Both new saints “cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through simple acts, available to everyone: daily Mass, prayer, and especially eucharistic adoration,” Pope Leo continued. “Carlo used to say: ‘In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint!’ …. ‘Sadness is looking at yourself; happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.’ ”

A devotion to the saints and to the Blessed Virgin Mary was also at the heart of their lives of faith, and both practiced charity generously, the Holy Father continued.

“Pier Giorgio said: ‘Around the poor and the sick, I see a light that we do not have.’ He called charity ‘the foundation of our religion’ and, like Carlo, he practiced it above all through small, concrete gestures, often hidden, living what Pope Francis called ‘a holiness found in our next-door neighbors.’ ”

Our Church’s newest saints offer “an invitation to all of us, especially young people,” Pope Leo said, “not to squander our lives, but to direct them upward and make them masterpieces.”

“Not I, but God,” St. Carlo said.

“If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end,” St. Pier Giorgio said.

Pope Leo noted, “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.”

Praise God for Pier Giorgio and Carlo! Their examples remind us, we too, are called to be saints.

Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, pray for us.

—Mike Krokos