Canonized Together on this Day, September 7, 2025
This Sunday, September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV will canonize two Italian youths—Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925) and Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991–2006)—marking them as the first saints of his pontificate. Though separated by nearly a century, their lives offer complementary models of holiness for young people navigating very different eras.
Frassati was born in an industrializing Turin. As a teenager during World War I, he witnessed the suffering of wounded soldiers returning to his city. He joined Catholic Action and the People’s Party, translating the Church’s social teaching into action by serving the marginalized. Acutis, born in the digital age, was a self-taught coder who documented Eucharistic miracles through a website he created from his family’s Milan home. A missionary priest summarized Acutis’ example: “Holiness is achievable in the modern world, even amidst technology and everyday challenges.”
For Pope Leo XIV, this joint canonization highlights how responses to the Industrial and Digital ages both point toward the timeless call to holiness.
Both found spiritual solace in nature. Frassati spent summers at his family’s home in Pollone, hiking Alpine peaks like Gran Tournalin and reflecting on his motto “verso l’alto” (“to the heights”). Acutis spent family summers in Assisi, praying with friars and nuns, exploring the Umbrian hills, and crafting small crossshaped reminders of Jesus. Both had a deep love for animals: Frassati cared for dogs named Jor, Mime, Wotan, and Uadi, and a cat named Scimbo, while Acutis had dogs Briciola, Stellina, Poldo, and Chiara, and cats Bambi and Cleo.
Despite being raised in families where faith was not always practiced, both developed a profound devotion to the Eucharist. Frassati began receiving daily Communion at age 12 and encouraged others to “Feed on this Bread of the Angels.” Acutis began daily Mass after age 7, calling the Eucharist “my highway to heaven” and reminding others that “People who place themselves before the Eucharist become saints.” Both consecrated themselves to Mary—Frassati at 17 as a Third Order Dominican, always carrying a rosary, and Acutis at age 5 at Pompeii, with devotion to Lourdes and Fatima, often gifting rosaries to friends.
Their dedication to the poor was remarkable given their comfortable upbringings. Frassati, the son of a prominent newspaper editor, joined St. Vincent de Paul, gave his bus fare to those in need, and ensured medicine reached the sick. Acutis, son of an insurance executive, sacrificed treats, sold toys, volunteered at soup kitchens, and used his savings to buy supplies for the homeless.
Both faced early, tragic deaths. Frassati succumbed to polio at age 24, likely contracted while serving the sick, and Acutis died of leukemia at 15, offering his suffering “for the Pope and the Church.” Their funerals drew many poor and marginalized people, testifying to how profoundly each had touched the lives of others.
Canonizing them together creates a continuous spiritual roadmap: where one life ended, the other begins, offering young people examples of faith in action. Frassati inspired attendees at World Youth Days in Sydney (2008) and Kraków (2016), while Acutis served as patron for WYD Lisbon (2023) and the 2024 U.S. National Eucharistic Congress. One speaker noted, “When I talk about either of these two, young people sit up a little straighter… Their stories are captivating,” emphasizing how holiness can feel achievable through ordinary yet joyful lives.
As Christine Wohar of Frassati USA reflected, “Now, the boy who loved saints becomes one—beside a saint he loved.” Their witness challenges all of us: Are we truly living, or merely existing?
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An adaptation of a National Catholic Register article: www.ncregister.com/news/brothers-in-christ-carlo-acutisand-pier-giorgio-frassati