Pope Francis will canonize two young Italian Blesseds, Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) and Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925), during two events to be held in Rome during the 2025 Jubilee, he announced during the general audience on November 20, 2024. The former will be canonized during the Jubilee of Teenagers, from April 25 to 27, while the latter will be canonized during the Jubilee of Youth, taking place from July 28 to August 3.
Although the Pontiff did not specify the exact dates of the canonization ceremonies, it is likely that they will take place on Sunday, April 27, for Carlo Acutis and Sunday, August 3, for Pier Giorgio Frassati:
“It seems logical that this should take place during the closing Mass of these jubilees,” says a well-informed priest in the Diocese of Rome.
The dates of canonization of these two Blesseds were particularly awaited in Italy and beyond.
Carlo Acutis: “God’s geek”
Carlo Acutis, a computer enthusiast nicknamed as “God's geek,” put his technological skills at the service of evangelization. He managed his Milan parish website, for example, and then launched other digital initiatives. Nurtured by a life of intense prayer and daily Mass, in 2006 he was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia. He died at the age of 15, and his testimony quickly spread throughout Italy and the rest of the world.
He was proclaimed venerable just 12 years after his death, in 2018. Initially buried not far from Milan, his body was transferred to Assisi in response to his desire to be close to the figure of St. Francis, whom he was particularly fond of.
In 2020, the Vatican recognized a first miracle obtained through Carlo Acutis’ intercession and he was declared blessed. In order to become a saint, the Church has to attribute a second miracle to a person’s intercession. Pope Francis recognized this for Acutis on May 23, 2024.
The choice of date for his canonization was no accident, as the Pope chose the Jubilee of Teenagers, which will see tens of thousands of young people converge on Rome between April 25 and 27.
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The young Piedmontese Pier Giorgio Frassati
Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) will be proclaimed a saint in front of thousands of other young people during the Jubilee of Youth in Rome this summer, from July 28 to August 3. This mountaineering enthusiast, who devoted his life to serving the poor before dying at the age of 24 of polio, is another inspirational figure for Catholic youth.
He was beatified by John Paul II in 1990. The Vatican had been waiting for a second miracle in order to move forward with his canonization. However, it seems Pope Francis okayed his canonization next summer before a decree has been published recognizing another miracle attributed to this young saint.
Last June, the Pope had already said that Frassati, who was an active member of Catholic Action, would “soon be a saint.”
“Pier Giorgio was from a wealthy family, upper class, [his father Alfredo Frassati, was a politician and the director of the Italian daily La Stampa, Ed.], but he did not grow up 'in cotton wool,'" Pope Francis said during an audience with an Italian association, using a typical Italian phrase to denote luxury. “He did not lose himself in the 'good life,' because in him was the sap of the Holy Spirit; there was love for Jesus and for his brothers and sisters.”
