Two Young Saints Message To Youth Today

Pope Leo XIV will canonize his first two saints during his pontificate. Both of them have led extraordinary lives for God, yet died young. Those men are Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassatti. They represent the population that the Catholic Church needs to fill the pews and aid in her growth: the youth and young adults. 

As thousands descend on Rome for the highly anticipated event, we can only reflect on what their canonization can mean for the youth today. Their heroic virtues will live in infamy and resonate with many young Catholics today.

Carlo Acutis- First Millennial saint

Millennials can rejoice that there is a saint for their generation. Acutis, who died at 15, developed a website to share about the different Eucharistic miracles. He once reminded us of the importance of living life well for God. He tells us, “I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God.” What profound words. We, too, must strive to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God.

He also stresses the importance of receiving Jesus by saying, “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” We must strive to receive Jesus as long as we walk this earth.

Pier Giorgio Frassatti

Pier Giorgio Frassatti, a lay Dominican, strived for what was higher. His motto was “Verso l’alto,” which means “To the heights”. Frassatti worked with the poor. He even fulfilled the parable of the final judgment Jesus preached about in the 25th Chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel on doing the least among us. His canonization will come 100 years after his death at the age of 24. 

One story was that he gave a new pair of shoes to a homeless man and came home shoeless. It didn’t go well with his parents, but Frassatti knew that there was more to life than materialistic things. He reminds us, “Come, and your every sacrifice will be repaid in heaven, because Jesus Christ promises that everything we do for the poor in His name, we do for Him.”

As Catholics celebrate the momentous occasion of these two young saints in full communion, we must strive to live out their drive to pursue something in the next life.