Frassati and Acutis saints. Leo XIV appeals to youth "don't waste your life, make it a masterpiece”

A “beautiful celebration” in St Peter's Square for the canonisation of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis. Two young lay people from different eras and contexts, but both “in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for Him”. Prevost to the 80,000 present: “All of you, all of us, are called to be saints!”. At the Angelus, peace was invoked in the Holy Land and Ukraine: “To the rulers: listen to the voice of conscience”.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Finally, Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are saints. ‘An invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to waste our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them a masterpiece,’ says Pope Leo XIV.

Today in St Peter's Square there is a ‘beautiful celebration’, a moment of joy ‘for all of Italy, for the whole Church, for the whole world’, Prevost emphasised off the cuff, introducing the first Rite of Canonisation of his pontificate. About 80,000 faithful from all over the world welcomed the attestation of holiness of the two young Italian lay people.

Frassati and Acutis are different in terms of era, tools and training, but they have one thing in common: they are ‘in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for Him,’ says the pontiff during his homily.

The day is sunny, the atmosphere festive, crowded with young people; several hundred had spent the night outdoors to secure a good spot near the entrance to St Peter's in Via di Porta Angelica.

There was a large presence of Italian Catholic Action for Pier Giorgio Frassati, “their” saint who was involved in various church groups. The families of the two new saints were present, as were official delegations from Italy, Great Britain, Poland and the Order of Malta. Before the start, the Provost appeared in the churchyard dressed in white, standing. He addressed those present, saying, “because while the celebration is very solemn, it is also a day of great joy”.

'We all feel in our hearts the same thing that Pier Giorgio and Carlo experienced: 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, are also called to be saints!‘

During his homily, Pope Leo XIV recalls the meanings of holiness, which often arises from restlessness and questions with no apparent answer. He gives the example of Solomon, who, having ’great abundance of means‘, asks himself: ’What must I do so that nothing is lost?" But also of Francis of Assisi, who began to write ‘the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord.’

‘The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God's plan,’ says Prevost. ‘[God] calls us [...] to throw ourselves without hesitation into the adventure He proposes to us, with the intelligence and strength that come from His Spirit and that we can receive to the extent that we strip ourselves of ourselves, of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to His word.’ This is what young saints such as Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis did when faced with a decisive ‘crossroads in life.’

Pope Leo XIV reminds us that many other saints could also be listed. ‘Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves fully to Him, keeping nothing for themselves,’ he says. Speaking of Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) from Turin, he describes him as ‘a light for lay spirituality’.

‘For him, faith was not a private devotion: driven by the power of the Gospel and his membership in ecclesial associations, he generously committed himself to society, contributed to political life, and devoted himself ardently to the service of the poor,’ the pontiff added in his homily.

Of Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), he recalls the phrases he loved to repeat. ‘In front of the sun, you get a tan. In front of the Eucharist, you become a saint!’ But also: ‘Conversion is nothing more than shifting your gaze from below to above; a simple movement of the eyes is enough.’ ‘He grew up [...] naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and teenager.’

Both new saints imbued their intense lives with ‘charity.’ They exercised it ‘above all through small, concrete gestures, often hidden, living what Pope Francis has called "everyday saints”,’ said Pope Leo XIV.

The two young Italians became saints the moment Leo XIV pronounced the formula of canonisation. ‘After long reflection,’ said the Pope in Latin, ‘invoking divine assistance several times and listening to the opinions of many of our brothers in the episcopate, we declare and define Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis to be saints.

’ The compliment of this ‘beautiful celebration.’ At the end, the Pope takes a long tour in the popemobile to greet the 80,000 people present, including those standing far from the churchyard, whom he had asked for ‘a little patience’ when introducing the celebration.

Concluding today's ‘long-awaited’ celebration, Pope Leo XIV, on the occasion of the Angelus, recalls that yesterday the Church also welcomed two new blessed. In Tallinn, Estonia, Jesuit Archbishop Edoardo Profittlich, ‘killed in 1942 during the Soviet regime's persecution of the Church,’ he explains. And in Verszprém, Hungary, Maria Maddalena Bódi, ‘a young laywoman, killed in 1945 because she resisted soldiers who wanted to rape her’.

And once again, thoughts turn to peace, which is so lacking in the world, ‘especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and in every other land bloodied by war,’ says the Pope. ‘To those in power, I repeat: listen to the voice of conscience!’ is his appeal.

‘The apparent victories achieved with weapons, sowing death and destruction, are in reality defeats and never bring peace and security! God does not want war, he wants peace, and he supports those who are committed to breaking out of the spiral of hatred and walking the path of dialogue.’