Months after his election to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, September 7 canonized two young saints in the presence of about 70,000 people in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the first of such celebration since being elected in May.
‘God’s Influencer’: Carlo Acutis becomes first ‘millennial’ saint
Pope Leo XIV declared computer whiz Carlo Acutis, 15, the first millennial saint. Acutis, a British-born Italian teenager, was born in 1991 in London.
In 2006, at 15, Acutis was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and shortly afterwards, he died.
His short but well-lived life offers inspiration to the young ones in this generation as he dedicated his life serving the Lord and spreading his faith.
Acutis is referred to as “God’s Influencer,” due to his tech legacy, using modern technology to spread his faith. He used his computer coding skills and built websites to evangelize people.
He also created an online catalog of Eucharistic miracles.
What were Acutis’ miracles?
Acutis’ canonization is marked by two miracles acknowledged by the Catholic Church.
The first miracle occurred in 2013, when a four-year-old Brazilian boy with an in-born pancreatic defect experienced a sudden and complete recovery after the boy’s mother prayed to Acutis.
The Catholic Church recognized this miracle in 2020.
The second was recognized in 2024, involving a Costa Rican woman, who prayed to Acutis’ tomb in Assisi, Italy, in 2022 after her daughter suffered severe head trauma after an accident.
Doctors initially said the daughter was unlikely to survive. But the mother left a note in Acutis’ tomb and, shortly afterwards, the daughter started to move and regained her speech.
After a CAT scan was conducted, the doctors said the brain hemorrhage had disappeared.
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Pier Giorgio Frassati: The bridge between the upper class and the poor
Pope Leo XIV also canonized alongside Acutis a 24-year-old Italian man named Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Born in 1901, Frassati dedicated his life serving the poor, despite his privileged life. He believed that “charity is the foundation of our religion.”
Frassati became a strong figure for many in Turin after dedicating his life from an early age to helping the underprivileged.
He became active in the Italian Popular Party and joined Catholic organizations as he believed that reforms were necessary for a society that was more just.
In 1925, at the age of 24, he died of polio.
Unaware of his son’s legacy and influence, Frassati’s mother was shocked after many – mostly poor – went to his funeral.
Frassati’s miracles
The first miracle attributed to Frassati occurred in 1933 when a man named Domenica Sellan was healed after becoming paralyzed and terminally ill due to tubercular disease of the spine.
He was miraculously cured after praying to Frassati. The Vatican recognized Sellan’s recovery as a miracle in 1989.
In 2024, Pope Francis recognized another miracle by Frassati, involving a seminarian who prayed to Frassati after severely injuring his Achilles tendon during a basketball game.
An MRI later confirmed that he was completely healed.
Pope Leo XIV’s homily
In his homily during a mass for the canonization of Acutis and Frassati, Pope Leo XIV urged the youth to follow the steps of Acutis and Frassati, who dedicated their lives to serving the Lord and others.
“Today, we look to St Pier Giorgio Frassati and St 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,” he said.
“Dear friends, 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 added.
He said both Acutis and Frassati became saints not because of grand gestures but because their sanctity came from everyday faithfulness.
“Both Pier Giorgio and Carlo cultivated their love for God and for their brothers and sisters through simple acts, available to everyone: daily Mass, prayer, and especially Eucharistic Adoration,” he said.
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Shameeka Voyiya 
Newsjustnews writers 
Ren Azrack Escosio