Young saints inspire students, Catholics around the world
Habemus novos sanctos! The Church canonized two young men, Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. on September 7, 2025. Almost 80,000 people were in attendance at the Mass, which marked the final step of the Church’s lengthy canonization process.
Despite the gates remaining closed until 8 a.m., many pilgrims eagerly awaited entry into the square hours in advance, with some arriving in Vatican City as early as 5 a.m.
One Notre Dame junior, Meredith Glunz, left for St. Peter’s at 4:15 a.m., emphasizing that, despite her exhaustion, the “early morning was so worth it!” She continued, “The joy at the canonizations was palpable—so many young people, families, priests, and sisters. We were all there to share in the celebration of these two incredible Saints, and it was an exceptional moment in the history of the Church.”
While waiting for the Mass to commence, groups within the square began praying the rosary, discussing the lives of Sts. Pier Giorgio and Carlo, and engaging in conversation and community with their fellow Catholics. Members of the Frassatti Fellowship and Azione Cattolica Italiana waved flags throughout the square, while clergy, professed religious, and other members of the laity clung to prayer cards of St. Carlo Acutis.
Families of the respective saints were also in attendance. The family of St. Carlo included his mother, father, younger sister, and younger brother, Michele, who read the First Reading. St. Pier Giorgio Frassatti’s niece and other family members sat in the front pews.
Sts. Pier Giorgio and Carlo mark the first canonizations performed by Pope Leo XIV. To honor the Church’s newest saints, the Mass included a moment of reflection on the two saints, allowing the entire Church to hear the stories of their lives.
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin, Italy, in 1901. His free time was often spent ministering to the poor in his community, and in 1922, he became a member of the Dominican Third Order, taking the name Fra Girolamo. He was also an avid mountain climber—a photo from one such trip he captioned with the phrase verso l’alto—“to the heights”—which has been taken as Frassati’s unofficial motto. He died in 1925 at the age of 24 from polio.
St. Carlo Acutis, the first millennial Saint, was born to an Italian family in London in 1991. Acutis was known for his reverence and devotion to the most Holy Eucharist. He was also skilled with technology and used this talent to continue glorifying God by creating websites dedicated to volunteer work, the Rosary, and Eucharistic miracles. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006 and passed away shortly after at the age of 15.
Both Frassati and Acutis illustrate that a faithful response to the call to holiness is possible within the context of ordinary life.
In his homily during the Mass, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the heroic courage of Sts. Pier Giorgio and Carlo, saying, “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.”
Perhaps most importantly, Pope Leo XIV spoke to the youth in attendance, whose vast numbers gave testament to the love already present within the Church for these two men, and the inspiration they had sparked in the lives of young Catholics everywhere. “Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces,” he remarked.
Multiple Notre Dame students studying abroad in Rome had the opportunity to attend the Mass, and were quite moved by their experience. One junior, in a comment to the Rover, called the Mass “a once in a lifetime experience.” Emphasizing her excitement in witnessing the canonization, she concluded by saying these “young saints serve as an inspiration for all of us.”
Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, pray for us!
Ella Yates is a junior studying philosophy, political science, and theology from Western Springs, Illinois. She is currently studying abroad in Rome and is on a mission to visit as many of the ~900 churches in the city as possible. If anyone has travel recommendations, she would appreciate them being sent to her at eyates4@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Image by the Irish Rover
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