PHILADELPHIA — News that canonization dates have been set for Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, who have become popular patrons for teens and young adults, is being met with joy and gratitude by a number of Catholics in the U.S.
Pope Francis announced Nov. 20 that he will elevate Acutis and Frassati, both currently titled "blessed," to sainthood in 2025, when the universal Catholic Church will mark a jubilee year. Acutis will be canonized April 27, during the April 25-27 Jubilee for Adolescents in Rome. Frassati's canonization will follow amid the July 28-Aug. 3 Jubilee of Young People in Rome.
"This news ushers in great celebration for the Universal Church and especially for young Catholics," said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia in a Nov. 20 statement. "Both of these saintly young men reflect the call for today's youth and young adults to live out their Catholic faith with courage, compassion, and divine love."
"What a wonderful gift to the church militant both of these new saints will be," Christine Wohar, president of FrassatiUSA -- a Nashville-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting Frassati's canonization, in collaboration with the Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome -- told OSV News in a Nov. 20 email.
Wohar, whose organization is planning a pilgrimage to the canonization, said that the canonizations are timely.
"Our culture so desperately needs Catholic models of courage, devotion to the Eucharist and Our Lady, true manhood and fidelity to the church," she said.
Father Francesco Maria D'Amico, pastor of St. William Parish in Philadelphia who served as interpreter and guide for Acutis' mother, Antonia, during her U.S. speaking tour in 2023, also sees these saints as particularly relevant.
"God is the Lord of history, and I think that nowadays, he sees youth being attacked by different ideologies, by secularization, by the false promises of technology," he said. "So I think that God, by raising these two youth and young adults as saints, is showing fatherly concern … because they (youth and young adults) are the future of the world."
Born 90 years apart, Frassati and Acutis both lived brief but faith-filled lives that saw them devoted to Christ, particularly in the Eucharist, and to those around them.
Dubbed the "Man of the Eight Beatitudes" by St. John Paul II, Frassati -- born in Turin in 1901 to an influential family -- began receiving daily Communion at a young age, while serving the poor through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and evangelizing his friends.
A lay Dominican, Frassati also participated in demonstrations to defend his faith against the Communist and Fascist parties in Italy. His passion for outdoor activities such as mountaineering has made him a patron of athletes. Frassati died in 1925 at age 24, having contracted polio, which doctors speculated he may have contracted from serving the sick. Pope St. John Paul II beatified Frassati in 1990.
Almost a century later, Acutis in many ways mirrored his predecessor's qualities. The sunny-faced teen -- who was born in London in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy -- displayed an early attraction to the spiritual life, reciting the rosary and attending Mass daily, serving as a catechist, volunteering at a church soup kitchen and tutoring children with their homework. At the same time, Acutis was known for his enthusiasm for typical teenage interests, such as video games, pets, soccer and music.
Acutis died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, having lived a brief life of extraordinary holiness that was marked by a profound devotion to Christ and the Eucharist. His desire to foster awareness of the Blessed Sacrament, along with his formidable computer skills, led him to create a database of Eucharistic miracles throughout the world. Pope Francis beatified him in 2020.
Michael Norton, president of the Malvern Retreat Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania -- home to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Blessed Carlo Acutis Shrine and Center for Eucharistic Encounter -- told OSV News he has seen firsthand how Acutis offers a relatable vision for holiness to kids and young adults.
"Students are absolutely fascinated and drawn to Carlo," Norton told OSV News Nov. 20. "It's like, 'Wow, he looks like me. I'm just like him. … He lived in our lifetime.' He talks their language -- he's a computer programmer, he played soccer. And so the kids are really drawn to him."
Similarly, Frassati has had a profound effect on students at a high school in Texas named in his honor.
"For us, this is yet another special grace upon our community, which has really been under the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati," said Tim Lienhard, director of enrollment, marketing and communications at Frassati Catholic High School in Spring, Texas.
Lienhard told OSV News Nov. 20 that the school has "really felt his spirit on our community, and you see that through our growth. We've grown from 46 students in our beginning year, 2013, to 350 today, and we continue to grow."
The school is planning to send some 20 students to Italy during spring break in March 2025 for a pilgrimage that will trace some key places in Frassati's life, Lienhard said.
Actor Jeromy Darling, who played Frassati in a 2021 play of the same name at Open Window Theatre in Minnesota's Twin Cities, told OSV News that encountering the saint-to-be through pre-production research had a profound effect on him.
"It changed my life completely," said Darling, who as a convert to Catholicism said Frassati's bold witness to the faith was personally inspiring, as the actor navigated rejection experienced for his decision to become Catholic.
"He's an enormous, enormous part of my life," Darling said. "He's one of my best friends. I talk to him every day."
Many Catholics have been inspired by an Italian phrase Frassati wrote on a well-known photo of him mountaineering: "Verso L'Alto," which means "to the heights."
"As St. Frassati reaches his ultimate summit, we pray he will guide each of us on our journey to the top," said Wohar. "We also share in the joy of all those with a devotion to Blessed Carlo Acutis who likewise offers great inspiration to today's youth."
— Gina Christian, OSV News