One loved climbing mountains and pursuing adventure. The other loved coding and computers. Both were young. Both put God first.
Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis will be canonized tomorrow (September 7, 2025). Born 90 years apart, but in the same century, Pier Giorgio and Carlo were young men very much in tune with their times. Yet, they carried within them a sense of eternity and left an extraordinary legacy.
What set these two young men apart? And what can we learn from them?
Carlo Acutis: The Computer Whiz Who Loved Christ
Who was Carlo Acutis?
Carlo was a child of the Internet generation. He was born on May 3, 1991, in London, to Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano Acutis. His family moved to Milan, Italy, soon after his birth.
His parents, like most parents of the 90s, were busy professionals. So, much of Carlo’s childhood was spent in the company of nannies and caretakers.
Early love for Christ and His Church
Carlo’s parents weren’t devout Catholics. Yet Carlo developed an intense love for Christ at a very young age, living out his faith in simple but striking ways:
- “To be always close to Jesus, that is my life plan.” Carlo shared a deeply personal relationship with Jesus, taking everything to Him in prayer: complaints, questions, worries.
- “The more Eucharist we will receive, the more we will become like Jesus.” Carlo’s love for the Eucharist brought his mother back to the faith and led him to create his now-famous website on Eucharistic miracles of the world at the age of 11!
- “Everyone is born as an original, but many people end up dying as photocopies.” In his short life, Carlo lived out his desire to be “original” and authentic in his faith by showing great kindness to others, standing up for classmates who were bullied, and giving away his pocket money to the poor.
Carlo’s rule of life
When he was just 12, he began teaching catechism and developed “8 rules” to help the younger children walk closer to Jesus.
- Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion daily.
- Spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day.
- Pray the Rosary daily.
- Read the Bible every day.
- Go once a week to Confession.
- Ask Jesus for the grace to become a saint.
- Make frequent sacrifices and offer these to Jesus.
- Ask your Guardian Angel to help you as often as possible.
Authentic, joyful faith
Carlo died at 15, within a week of being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia.
His short life was filled with ordinary moments (hanging out with friends, studying for tests) that were lived with an authentic faith and one goal in mind: growing closer to Jesus “without wasting even a minute on things unpleasing to God.”
Pier Giorgio Frassati: The Athlete Who Kept Running the Good Race
Who was Pier Giorgio Frassati?
Pier Giorgio was born with the proverbial silver spoon on April 6, 1901, in Turin, Italy.
His father, Alfredo, was the founder and editor of “La Stampa,” a leading Italian newspaper, and he later became Italy’s ambassador to Germany. His mother Adelaide was a successful painter.
Pier Giorgio shared a close and loving relationship with his younger sister, Luciana. He loved his family deeply and often put their needs before his own happiness.
Failing at Latin, Growing in Faith
At 12, Pier Giorgio failed at Latin. He was deeply saddened by this, but it became a turning point in his spiritual journey. He had to attend a Jesuit school to retake his exams. Here, he was encouraged by the priests to receive the Eucharist every day, an uncommon practice at that time.
Daily Mass soon became the center of his life. “I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible,” he later wrote to a friend. From here on, his faith took on wings. He spent hours in Adoration, often during the night, before leaving for an early-morning excursion to the mountains, carrying both his faith and his joyful energy to the heights.
Friends, mountains, and the poor
Pier Giorgio had many friends, and he loved spending time with them, hiking, swimming, and boating.
In May 1924, he founded the Society of the Tipi Loschi, a group of his closest friends, with whom he often went on hikes and mountain-climbing excursions. On these treks, he often spoke to them about God, prayed the rosary, and urged them to attend the Eucharist as often as possible.
Love of God and neighbor
His generosity extended beyond his family and friends. “We have the duty,” he said, “of putting our health at the service of those who do not have it.”
As a young boy, he often gave away his bus fare to the poor and then ran all the way home to be on time for meals. Later, through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, he spent much time serving the sick, the poor, and the orphans. He often carried little slips of paper in his pockets, with the names and addresses of the poor who needed his help.
Sincere, selfless love until the end
Athletic, adventurous, and full of life, Pier Giorgio Frasatti died young, at the age of 24. He had contracted Polio.
But even on his deathbed, he was concerned about others, especially the poor. Paralyzed and in pain, he wrote a note to a friend, asking him to deliver medicine to a poor man who would be waiting for his assistance.
In all he did in his young life, Pier Giorgio exuded the love of God, a sincere, joyful, and selfless love.
Focused on eternity
Separated by nearly a century, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati both preached the gospel through the witness of their lives. Both shared an intense love for Jesus in the Eucharist and a selfless love for others.
As they are canonized tomorrow, these young saints show us that holiness is possible in the here and now. They challenge us to go beyond lukewarm faith and to trek up the road to eternity, with our eyes fixed on Jesus in the Eucharist and our hearts seeking to love others selflessly and joyfully.
In faith,
