Pope Leo canonizes first millennial saint
Two young Italians, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, were elevated to sainthood
What happened
Pope Leo XIV Sunday elevated to sainthood two young Italians who died eight decades apart, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, during a mass in St. Peter's Square before a crowd of 80,000. Acutis, a computer prodigy known as "God's influencer" due to his meticulous cataloging of miracles online, died at age 15 in 2006, days after being diagnosed with leukemia. He is the Catholic Church's first millennial saint.
Who said what
"Saints 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 upward and make them masterpieces," Leo said Sunday, at the first canonization of his papacy. Acutis' "road to sainthood ranks among the fastest in modern history," The Washington Post said. His parents and siblings were in attendance at the ceremony.
Frassati, who died from polio in 1925 at age 24, was known for serving the poor and spreading his faith among his friends. He and Acutis came from prominent, wealthy families, and "in both cases, word of their goodness and faith spread quickly and grew globally," The New York Times said.
What next?
Pope Francis, before he died in April, had "fervently pushed the Acutis sainthood case forward, convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age," The Associated Press said. About a million pilgrims visited Acutis' glass tomb in Assisi last year, and "more people are on track to visit it this year," The Wall Street Journal said.
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