The Catholic Church is celebrating a joyful moment: the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. This long-awaited event will inspire millions of faithful worldwide, as two young men who lived simple yet extraordinary lives are officially recognized as saints. For the past decade of my teaching ministry, I’ve been sharing the story of Carlo Acutis with my students. Each new school year, I pray they will be moved by his witness. Carlo had a special love for the poor and for the Eucharist. He cared deeply for those living on the margins of society, but he was also keenly aware of the indifference many Catholics show toward the Blessed Sacrament. His words still ring true today: “The Eucharist is the highway to heaven.”
Pier Giorgio Frassati, too, was a young man in love with Christ and His people. Like Carlo, he came from a wealthy family, yet he was drawn not to luxury but to serving the poor. What’s most striking is that both men lived their charity quietly. Their families only came to realize the depth of their hidden service at their funerals, when crowds of strangers appeared to honor them. Their lives leave us with a question: How do we serve Christ in the poor while living humbly, without seeking recognition? Jesus Himself answers this in Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
To live like Carlo and Pier Giorgio means loving more radically. It means seeing Christ in the faces of the poor, the forgotten, and the marginalized. It means letting our service flow from prayer — from time spent before the Blessed Sacrament, from receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, from becoming, in a real sense, a “living tabernacle” for Him. Carlo and Pier Giorgio challenge us to believe that holiness is possible in our own daily lives. They remind us that ordinary people can set the world on fire with the love of Christ.
Here are a few ways to follow in the footsteps of these two modern saints:
1- Spend time with Jesus – Make a commitment to Eucharistic Adoration or attend one extra daily Mass each week.
2- Serve quietly – Look for ways to help someone in need without telling anyone about it. Let your love be hidden, as theirs was.
3- Choose simplicity – Like Carlo and Pier Giorgio, resist the pull of materialism. Ask yourself: What can I give up so I can give more to others?
So let us pray: Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us, that we may serve Christ in our neighbor and inspire hope in a world in need of His light.
Pax,
Marisa
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