At the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, Leo XIV invited the faithful to “not waste their lives, but to elevate them and turn them into a masterpiece.”
Newsroom(09/10/2025 13:04, Gaudium Press) Before the start of the Eucharistic Celebration — in which Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were canonized — Pope Leo XIV made a surprise appearance in front of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the faithful who had come from all over the world: young people and children, relatives of the two blessed, official delegations, bishops and priests, men and women religious, and members of Catholic Action. Leo XIV explained that “this solemn celebration of canonization” was “a day of great celebration for all of Italy, for the whole Church, for the entire world.”
The Pontiff invited the faithful to participate in the liturgical celebration with prayer, with open hearts, eager to truly receive this grace from the Lord, and emphasized: “We all feel in our hearts what Pier Giorgio and Carlo experienced: this love for Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist, but also for the poor, for our brothers and sisters.” He concluded his brief address with an exhortation to holiness: “We are all called to be saints.”
Rite of Canonization
The canonization of the two blessed, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, took place in an atmosphere of contemplation, respecting the liturgical rite planned for the occasion. After the singing of the Veni Creator at the beginning of Mass, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, presented Pope Leo XIV with the formal request for canonization and read a brief biographical sketch of each blessed. This was followed by the singing of the litany of the saints, at the end of which the Holy Father pronounced the formula of canonization.
Following Jesus by carrying his cross
“The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan,” emphasized the Pope, who presented the two new saints as young people who sought God’s wisdom “to know his plans and adhere faithfully to them.”
Drawing from the liturgical texts of the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Leo XIV highlighted this plan of Jesus to which we must fully adhere: “Whoever does not carry his cross and walk behind me cannot be my disciple.” And further: “Any of you, unless you renounce all that you possess, cannot be my disciple!” This project, he said, is an invitation to strip ourselves “of ourselves, of the things and ideas we are attached to, in order to listen to his word.”
A “yes” to God while we are young
Taking the example of St. Francis of Assisi, the Pope explained that, “over the centuries, many young people have had to face this decisive choice in their lives.” Among them are saints whom we sometimes “portray as great figures, forgetting that it all began for them when, as young people, they said ‘yes’ to God and gave themselves totally to Him, without holding anything back.” It was this “yes,” Leo XIV said, alluding to St. Augustine, that “gave a new direction, a new path, a new logic,” in which nothing of their existence was lost.
Frassati and Acutis: Both in love with Jesus
The first is a young man from the early 20th century, while the second is a teenager of our times. In their lives, both showed that they were “passionate about Jesus and willing to give everything for Him,” said the Pope, explaining that the first, Frassati, “found the Lord through school and church groups, and bore witness to Him with his joy of living and being a Christian in prayer, friendship, and charity.” His life became “a light for lay spirituality” because, driven by the power of the Gospel, the young Frassati “generously committed himself to society, contributed to political life, and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor.”
Carlo, for his part, found Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, then at school and, above all, in the sacraments. He grew up “naturally integrating prayer, sports, studies, and charity into his childhood and adolescence.”
A life marked by love for God and neighbor
The two saints, said the Pope, “cultivated love for God and their brothers and sisters through simple means, accessible to all: daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration.” To illustrate their life of constant prayer, Leo XIV quoted some words from the two new saints. For Carlos: “In the sun, we get a tan. In the Eucharist, we become saints!” “Sadness is looking inward; happiness is looking at God. Conversion is nothing more than looking up; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.” Another essential element for them was frequent confession. Carlo wrote: “The only thing we really have to fear is sin”; and he marveled that, as always, “men care so much about the beauty of their own bodies and so little about that of their souls.”
Both had a great devotion to the saints and the Virgin Mary, and practiced charity generously, which they did until their last breath, cut short in the prime of life. Both faced death with great serenity. Pier Giorgio said that the day of his death would be the most beautiful day of his life, while Carlo, even younger, “liked to say that Heaven was always waiting for us and that loving tomorrow means giving our best today.”
The Pope concluded his homily by inviting the faithful, especially young people, to follow the example of Saints Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, who did not waste their lives, but directed them toward the heights, transforming them into masterpieces. These saints, he emphasized, encourage us with their words to put God at the center of each of our actions. “This is the simple but victorious formula of their holiness,” said the Pope, adding that we are called to follow this witness, to savor life to the end and go to meet the Lord at the banquet in Heaven.
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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