There are moments in St Peter’s Square when history feels less like a ceremony and more like a heartbeat. Sunday was one of those mornings. Under the shadow of Michelangelo’s dome and in front of tens of thousands of faithful, Pope Francis canonised two extraordinary figures, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, stitching together a tapestry of old-world devotion and new-age faith.
It was not merely another entry in the Vatican’s long ledger of saints. It was an announcement that holiness wears many faces: that of a mountaineer with his boots muddy from serving Turin’s poor in the 1920s, and that of a teenager whose laptop once mapped out Eucharistic miracles on the internet before his untimely death in 2006.
Bells, incense, and an unmistakable Roman flourish
The Pope, standing with the gravitas of centuries behind him, reminded the faithful: “In this climate, it is beautiful to remember that the Church has been enriched by two new Blesseds.” The words floated out over the square, caught between the bells and the banners, and one could almost sense the applause of the saints already inscribed in the heavenly roll call.
Two relics were brought to the altar: a fragment of young Carlo’s heart and a piece of clothing once worn by Pier Giorgio. The faithful sighed, some wept, and others held their breath. Such relics are not trinkets; they are a Church’s way of saying: Here is the proof of holiness in flesh and fabric.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, with the formality of Latin cadence, proclaimed: “We declare and define Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis as Saints, and we inscribe them in the Roll of Saints, establishing that throughout the Church they are devoutly honoured among the Saints.”
Italy watching, the world listening
Among the distinguished guests was Italian President Sergio Mattarella, a man not given to excess display, but even he seemed visibly moved. After all, these were not distant medieval mystics, but fellow Italians whose stories still pulse with relevance.
Frassati, who scaled mountains as easily as he lifted the downtrodden, once quipped that climbing brought him closer to God. His short but dazzling life was a sermon lived in boots and compassion. Acutis, on the other hand, wore sneakers, jeans, and carried a backpack, yet catalogued miracles online with the thoroughness of a medieval scribe. Both remind us that sanctity is not bound by century, fashion, or circumstance.
A Church that dares to wink at modernity
Canonising these two together was no accident. Ever ancient and new, the Church has shown it can laugh at the notion of being “out of touch.” What could be more contemporary than a teenage saint of the digital era, honoured alongside a layman who embodied social justice long before hashtags made it fashionable?
Their canonisation is less a closing of a chapter than the opening of a new one. For the young Catholic scrolling on a smartphone, Acutis whispers: holiness can be found online, if you know where to look. For the social activist marching through city streets, Frassati reminds: serving the poor is the only real revolution worth the climb.
Rome never does things by halves.
When the bells of St Peter’s thundered at the conclusion of the Mass, the square erupted. Flags waved, choirs sang, and pilgrims embraced. Rome does not do understatement, and canonisation days are proof of that. Yet beneath the pageantry was something simpler, almost tender: the sense that faith, in all its ancient stubbornness, still has the power to inspire.
From Turin’s mountains to Milan’s classrooms, from dusty hiking boots to the glow of a computer screen, two very different young men now wear the same crown. Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, one modern, one classic, will now be forever linked in the mosaic of the Catholic Church.
And somewhere, in the hush that followed the bells, one could almost imagine Frassati’s mischievous grin and Acutis’s bright-eyed curiosity, both perhaps already plotting how best to get the rest of us climbing higher.
By Mario Masciullo
BIO
My career in civil aviation took flight in 1960, beginning with British European Airways (BEA). In 1971, I joined East African Airways (EAA), and shortly thereafter, I was honoured to be selected as one of the qualified candidates for the managerial role at Malaysia & Singapore Airlines (MAS).
In 1972, following the decision by the Malaysian and Singaporean governments to separate the airline into two national carriers, I continued my professional journey with Singapore Airlines. I proudly served as the Marketing Manager for Italy, Greece, and Malta until 1987.
With a journalist’s license I had previously acquired, I decided to transition fully into journalism. My debut was with the Milan-based press agency Milanopress, and I have continued to write and collaborate with both Italian and international press ever since.
I remain active in the field and am a proud member of the Foreign Press Club in Italy, headquartered in Rome.
