The canonisation of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis on September 7, 2025, is more than a liturgical milestone. It is a bold statement to the modern Church and the world; holiness is not a relic of the past, nor the preserve of cloistered monks and nuns. Holiness is alive, youthful, and urgently relevant. Pope Leo XIV, standing before tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square, captured this truth with piercing clarity: “The greatest tragedy in life is not to fail, but to live without meaning. Pier Giorgio and Carlo remind us that every baptised person is capable of making life a masterpiece.” Those words, delivered under the autumn sky, cut across generations and cultures.
They remind us that sanctity is not about fleeing the struggles of the age, but about transforming them with love. Why do these canonisations matter? Because the Church, often accused of speaking only to the past, now raises up models who speak directly to our present. Pier Giorgio Frassati, born into privilege in Turin, Italy, could have embraced a life of ease. Instead, he climbed mountains, organised Catholic Action groups, prayed long hours before the Eucharist, and quietly gave away his resources to serve the poor. His sudden death at 24 shocked his parents—but it revealed a hidden legacy, as thousands of the poor crowded his funeral, testifying: “He helped us. He loved us. He was our friend.” Carlo Acutis, born in 1991, grew up in the digital age.
By 11, he was already designing websites, not for self-promotion but to evangelise. The 15-year-old “God’s influencer” brought the Gospel to the digital frontier, transforming technology into a tool of mission. His online archive of Eucharistic miracles continues to inspire millions worldwide. Yet, behind his technological brilliance was spiritual simplicity: daily Mass, the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, and a cheerful witness among his peers. When leukemia struck at 15, he accepted it with heroic surrender, offering his suffering for the Pope and the Church. Carlo’s legacy is not wealth or fame, but holiness dressed in jeans and a hoodie. His life declares: sanctity is possible—even online.
At first glance, Frassati and Acutis belong to different worlds: one lived in early 20th-century Europe, the other in the age of smartphones and social media. One climbed rugged peaks, the other navigated fibre-optic cables. Yet their lives converge in a single message: holiness is not for tomorrow; it is for today. It is not about age, class, or circumstance. It is about fidelity to Christ, lived with joy, courage, and generosity. This is the lesson the Church— and society—must not ignore. Holiness is not perfection, but fidelity. It is not escape, but transformation. Both saints remind us that sanctity is possible in sneakers and backpacks, in lecture halls and online forums, in laughter and in sacrifice.
Families must foster holiness not as an occasional ideal but as a daily rhythm—meals shared in gratitude, conversations seasoned with faith, and prayers spoken together. Parishes must move beyond entertainment-driven youth programmes and embrace genuine formation in discipleship. Schools and universities must integrate intellectual and spiritual growth, proving that reason and faith, knowledge and holiness, can flourish side by side. And crucially, the Church must not fear the digital world but baptise it. Carlo showed us that the internet can be more than distraction—it can be mission territory. If the Gospel once travelled on ships, today it travels on servers and screens.
The Church cannot afford to retreat from this frontier; it must claim it for Christ. The lives of Frassati and Acutis also confront a culture too often resigned to mediocrity. Both lived short lives—one ending at 24, the other at 15—yet both shine brightly enough to illuminate a generation. If such brevity could be filled with such brilliance, what excuse have we for lives wasted in indifference? Pope Leo XIV’s homily must echo in our hearts as a call to action: “Do not be afraid to dream of holiness. Do not settle for mediocrity. Look to Carlo and Pier Giorgio—see that the saints are not yesterday’s heroes but today’s companions.” The canonisation of these two young men is a summons to all of us.
The Church today does not need more cynics, critics, or spectators. It needs saints—saints in classrooms and offices, saints online and on the streets, saints who climb mountains of injustice and saints who evangelise through keyboards and code. By canonising Frassati and Acutis together, the Church is declaring that young people are not merely the “future” but essential witnesses of the present. This is the new dawn of youthful holiness. Pier Giorgio and Carlo are not distant icons; they are living signposts. They urge us upward, verso l’alto—to the heights of holiness, to the heights of heaven. The world is waiting. Who among us will answer?
