UD Students Attend the Recent Canonizations!
On September 7, 2025, Pope Leo XIV canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis as saints in the Catholic Church.
Carlo Acutis is the first millennial saint, which makes him extremely important to modern Catholics striving for holiness. He used technology to encourage devotion to the Eucharist, and died from leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006.
This past July marked 100 years since the death of Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom Pope Saint John Paul II declared “the Man of the Beatitudes”. He was known for his unceasing joy, and love of mountain climbing, which he said brought him closer to God. He would often make bets with his friends, saying that if they lost, they had to go to Mass with him. He was also intensely dedicated to the poor; one of the last things he did before he died was to insist that medicine be taken to a sick man that he had been caring for. Frassati died of polio in 1925. Thousands of people whom he had served attended his funeral, shocking his family, who didn’t know that he had been serving others in this way.
Both Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati have already been profoundly influential for many Catholics, both during and after their earthly lives. Their influence can only increase now that they have been declared saints by the Catholic Church.
While some students watched the canonization live in America at 3:00 a.m., senior business major Emily Jorgenson seized the opportunity to fly from Irving to Rome for the weekend to witness the canonization in person. She left Irving on Friday and returned on Monday.
The canonization Mass began at 10:00 a.m., but well before 6:00 a.m., people were lined up outside of St. Peter’s Basilica. Jorgenson said, “There were 80,000 people in the square.” She also pointed out the number of young people that were at the Canonization: “There were lots of groups of people my age, a lot of pilgrimages, especially from places like Brazil, where the miracles happened, and a lot of families came.”
At 9:30 a.m., Pope Leo came out onto the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to welcome the people, particularly young people, boys, and athletes, and, in his words, “to emphasize the connection of the young men that have died and are now living for us.”
The family members of the two saints were involved in the canonization ceremony. At the beginning of the Mass, Pier Giorgio’s niece, 98 year old Wanda Gawronska brought up flowers. Carlo Acutis’s 15 year old brother, Michele, was the lector for the first reading, and he along with his twin sister Francesca and their parents brought up the unconsecrated hosts and wine before the Consecration.
After the Mass, Pope Leo was driven around the square in the Popemobile. Regarding the experience as a whole, Jorgenson said: “It was incredible. I felt the Holy Spirit the whole time, just screaming, yelling at us, so full of joy.”
When asked about the importance of the newly canonized saints for young people today, Jorgenson said, ”It makes it much easier to relate to them and become friends with them. Especially Carlo, who would be 33 or 34 today if he was still alive.”[…] What would Carlo be doing today? He’d be best friends with Father Mike Schmitz or something like that. It’s just easy to imagine ourselves within their lives.”
When asked what she wished everybody knew about the new saints, Jorgenson said, “Just knowing the amount of joy these men can bring into your lives. Pier Giorgio has been dead for 100 years and Carlo Acutis for 19, but they can still put this much of an influence in the world and embrace the joy and bring the Holy Spirit and help us live our lives for the best.”
So, in the stress of upcoming midterms, pray for the intercession of these two holy young men. And remember, even if things don’t go well, Pier Giorgio failed his Latin classes twice, so you’re in good company.
Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us!