The canonization of both saints had been announced by Pope Francis in a General Audience in November 20, 2024.

Carlo Acutis’ canonization had originally been scheduled for April 27, during the Jubilee of Teenagers, but was delayed after the death of Pope Francis on April 21.

Similarly, Giorgio Frassati’s canonization was first planned for August 3, at the close of the Jubilee of Youth.

After his election, Pope Leo scheduled both canonizations to coincide on September 7, thus underscoring the similarities between Acutis and Frassati as examples of holiness for today’s youth.

Brief Lives, Lasting Holiness

Giorgio Frassati, born in the early 20^th century, was a committed member of Catholic Youth in Italy and a staunch opponent of Mussolini’s fascist regime.

Carlo Acutis, born in 1991, became known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist. He created a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles around the world and used the internet to defend the doctrine of the Real Presence.

Both lives were cut short—Frassati by polio at 24, Acutis by leukemia at 15. Their untimely deaths secured their place as “young saints” for a new generation.

Words of Wisdom

In his homily during the Canonization Mass, Pope Leo described the canonization date as providential. The first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, poses a central question: “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” (Wis 9:17).

Leo explained that the presumptive author of the Book of Wisdom, believed to be a young King Solomon, mirrors Frassati and Acutis—seeking divine wisdom early in life so as “not to waste it outside God’s plan.”

The Pope also recalled other saints who chose God in their youth. For example, St. Francis of Assisi abandoned worldly glory for evangelical poverty. From the Gospel of the day, Jesus Christ’ words rang out: “Whoever does not carry his cross cannot be my disciple. . . none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Lk 14:27,33).

“Many saints followed this path,” Leo said. “It all began when, while still young, they said ‘yes’ to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves.”

As an Augustinian, Leo invoked the example of St. Augustine, who in his youth heard the voice of God within him saying, “I want you.” This eventually gave him “a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.”

Simple Holiness, Made Young

According to Leo, both Acutis and Frassati embodied this wisdom through simple acts of love for God and their brothers and sisters—daily Mass, prayer, frequent confession, devotion to the saints and the Virgin Mary, Eucharistic adoration, and acts of charity.

Frassati famously called charity “the foundation of our religion.” Leo added: “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.’”

For Frassati, this path was lived in politics. For Acutis, it was found in the bosom of his family.

“If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end,” Pope Leo concluded. “Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.”

A Historic Moment

The ceremony included several moving moments. One of the highlights was Pope Leo’s proclamation of the Solemn Formula of Canonization, infallibly declaring Acutis and Frassati saints of the Church.

Another poignant moment came when Carlo’s younger brother read the first reading from the Book of Wisdom.

Later, when Leo spoke of Carlo’s family as a place where he found holiness, the Holy Father pointed to the presence of Acutis’ parents in the assembly, prompting sustained applause.

At the conclusion of the liturgy, Pope Leo called the faithful to pray for peace, especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine.

“Listen to the voice of conscience, instead of the pursuit of victory through the force of arms, which sows death and destruction,” he exhorted. “God does not will war, He wills peace.”

An estimated 80,000 faithful filled St. Peter’s Square for this celebration.

This article was originally published at The City and the World. To subscribe to Pedro Gabriel and Claire Domingues’s Catholic journalism project, click here.