Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized on Sunday. Both were young men who lived vibrant faith-filled lives and are beloved for their enthusiasm and witness to the faith.  

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, born in 1901, was a young man from Turin, Italy who loved mountain climbing and was a Third Order Dominican who frequently performed works of charity. When he was 17, he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and spent much of his free time caring for the poor, homeless, sick, and disabled.  

At that time, receiving the Eucharist daily was not common. Frassati specifically requested and obtained permission to do so, as he considered it a vital part of a life of faith.  

On a photograph from what would be his final mountain climb, he wrote the phrase “verso l’alto” (“to the heights”). The now-famous phrase serves as a motto for those inspired by his life, it symbolizes his desire and encouragement for all to strive for the ultimate: eternal life with Christ. In 1925, at the age of 24, Frassati died of polio, most likely contracted while serving the sick.

Blessed Carlo Acutis

Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who will be the first millennial Saint, is best known for his devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and his recognition of the True Presence.  

Born in 1991, he spent his life devoted to Christ before his death at age 15. He frequently attended daily Mass and adoration even as a child, calling the Eucharist his “highway to heaven.” His faith and belief in the True Presence of Christ was not something he kept to himself– his witness inspired his parents to return to the faith and his au pair to convert to Catholicism from Hinduism. Classmates, friends, and other family members often share how he frequently spoke about Mass and Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist any chance he had.

This belief coupled with his tech-savvy computer skills led him to create his own website to catalog Eucharistic miracles. During the last two and a half years of his short life, he worked with his family to develop an exhibition of these miracles which was showcased during the Year of the Eucharist in 2005. This exhibition continues to travel to thousands of parishes worldwide.

Shortly before his death from Leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006, Acutis told his family that he was offering his suffering for the pope and the Church, further testament of the depth of his faith.  

For information on how to watch the livestream of the canonization Mass, click here.

For more information about the Eucharistic Revival, click here.

For information about youth and young adult ministry, click here.

To find an adoration time at a parish near you, click here.