Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati canonised by Pope Leo XIV

Thousands watched as London-born teenager Carlo Acutis was canonised by the Pope in Rome yesterday

Carlo Acutis, who died of Leukaemia aged 15 in 2006 and who was dubbed “God’s influencer”, was canonised yesterday along with another young saint, Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died a century ago.

Acutis’ family, who had moved with him from London back to Italy when he was a few months old, were at St Peter’s for the canonisation along with as many as 80,000 pilgrims from Italy, the US and other parts of the world.

Acutis had been due to be canonised earlier this year but it was postponed after the death of Pope Francis. Many of the young people who had travelled to Rome for that event, found themselves attending Pope Francis’ funeral instead.

Before the Mass, Pope Leo told the crowds, “Let each of us also feel in our hearts what Pier Giorgio and Carlo experienced, namely this love for Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist, but also in the poor, in our brothers and sisters. All of you, all of us too, are called to be Saints.”

In his homily, Pope Leo spoke about the reading from the Book of Wisdom, about listening to God’s counsel.

He said in the reading, the question about this issue was asked by another young man, King Solomon, who he compared to the two new saints.

“Upon the death of his father David, he realised that he had many things: power, wealth, health, youth, beauty, and the entire kingdom. It was precisely this great abundance of resources that raised a question in his heart: ‘What must I do so that nothing is lost?’ Solomon understood that the only way to find an answer was to ask God for an even greater gift, that of his wisdom, so that he might know God’s plans and follow them faithfully. He realised, in fact, that only in this way would everything find its place in the Lord’s great plan. Yes, because the greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan.”

Jesus, too, calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, to empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word, he added.

“Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi, like Solomon, he too was young and rich, thirsty for glory and fame. That is why he went to war, hoping to be knighted and adorned with honours.

“But Jesus appeared to him along the way and asked him to reflect on what he was doing. Coming to his senses, he asked God a simple question: ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ From there, he changed his life and began to write a different story: the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord, living in poverty and preferring the love of his brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s gold, silver and precious fabrics.”

In this setting, he added, we look to Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and Saint Carlo Acutis, a young man from the early 20th century and a teenager from our own day, both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him.

Pier Giorgio encountered the Lord through school and church groups, Catholic Action, the Conferences of Saint Vincent, the FUCI (Italian Catholic University Federation), the Dominican Third Order, and he “bore witness to God with his joy of living and of being a Christian in prayer, friendship and charity”.

Even today, Pier Giorgio’s life is a beacon for lay spirituality, Pope Leo said. “For him, faith was not a private devotion, but it was driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations. He was also generously committed to society, contributed to political life and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor.”

Carlo, for his part, encountered Jesus in his family, thanks to his parents, Andrea and Antonia, who were present with his two siblings, Francesca and Michele, and then at school, and n the sacraments celebrated in the parish community, the Pope continued. “He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man.”

Carlo used to say: “In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint!”

Pope Leo said, “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.”

Pope Leo concluded, “Dear friends, Saints 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.”

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