Huge crowds as Pope declares two young, modern saints

At a Canonisation Mass at St Peter’s Square on September 7, Pope Leo said that the new saints are “an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upward and make them masterpieces”.

“The simple but winning formula of their holiness,” he said, is accessible to everyone at any time. “They encourage us with their words: ‘Not I, but God’, as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: ‘If you have God at the centre of all your actions, then you will reach the end.’”

St Pier Giorgio Frassati died of polio in Turin in 1925, at the age of 24. St Carlo Acutis died of leukaemia in Monza, Italy, in 2006, aged just 15.

At their canonisation Mass, Pope Leo said saints of the Church are often portrayed as “great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said ‘yes’ to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves”.

“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,” he said.

Several family members and people closely associated with the new saints attended the Mass. St Carlo Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano, and her husband Andrea Acutis and their children Francesca and Michele took part in the presentation of the gifts, and Michele read a passage from the Book of Wisdom.

A congregation estimated at 80,000 people was present at St Peter’s Square.

St Carlo Acutis earned the nickname “God’s Influencer” thanks to his main tech legacy: a multilingual website documenting Eucharistic miracles recognised by the Church. He was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist each day, but limited himself to one hour of video games a week, because human relationships were more important to him.

St Pier Giorgio Frassati was known for his devotion to serving the poor and carrying out acts of charity while spreading his faith to his friends. He was active with Catholic Action, the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Italian Catholic University Federation and the Dominican Third Order.

“Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality,” Pope Leo said.

The Pope said that “even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God, blessing him and praying to him for themselves and for everyone”.

Pope Leo spoke extensively about the two new saints in his homily, departing from his predecessor’s practice. Pope Francis normally said little on such occasions about the people he had just canonised.

The canonisations had been scheduled for earlier this year, but were postponed following Pope Francis’ death in April.

FULL STORY

New young saints encourage faithful to live life to the full, pope says | USCCB (By Carol Glatz/CNS)

Pope Leo proclaims Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati Saints (CNA)

Pope Leo declares teen computer whiz Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint (NCR/AP)

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Pope Leo XIV homily at Canonisation Mass (Vatican)