Today in Rome, Blessed Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will b canonized by Pope Leo XIV.
From a story about Acutis' beatification in 2020:
“The beatification of Carlo Acutis, son of the land of Lombardy, in love with the land of Francis of Assisi, is good news, a strong message that a youth of our time, one like many, was captivated by Christ and became a beacon of light for those who wish to know Him and follow His example. His life is an example, particularly for young people, not to seek gratification only in ephemeral success, but in the perennial values that Jesus suggests in the Gospel, namely: putting God in first place, in life’s large and small circumstances, and serving brothers and sisters, especially the least”. These were the words pronounced by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Pontifical Legate for the Basilicas of Saint Francis and Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi, as he celebrated Mass in Assisi for the Beatification of Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) on Saturday afternoon, 10 October.
In his homily, the Cardinal outlined an effective portrait of the young Acutis who died at the age of 15. His “strength”, Cardinal Vallini said, was in “having a personal, intimate and deep relationship with Jesus” and in “making the Eucharist the loftiest moment of his relationship with God”. He was “an average, simple, spontaneous, likable young man — suffice it to look at his photograph; he loved nature and animals, played soccer, had many friends his age; he was attracted to modern means of social communication, passionate about information technology and taught himself how to build programmes “to transmit the Gospel, to communicate values and beauty”, as the Pope recalled in the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit (n. 105). He also had “the gift to attract and was perceived as an example”, Cardinal Vallini noted. And the secret to his spiritual journey lay in the fact that even “as a boy he felt the need for faith and turned his gaze to Jesus. His love for the Eucharist” — the Cardinal emphasized — “established and kept alive his relationship with God”. He often said, “the Eucharist is my highway to heaven”. He participated in Mass every day and spent a great deal of time in adoration before the Most Holy Sacrament, saying: ‘you go straight to heaven if you approach the Eucharist every day’. For Carlo, Jesus was Friend, Teacher and Saviour; He was his life force and the reason for everything he did”.
Receiving inner strength from the Lord’s presence, Carlo had an ardent wish: “to attract as many people to Jesus by proclaiming the Gospel first and foremost with the example of his life”, continued the Papal Legate, indicating that “it was precisely the witness of his faith that impelled him to successfully undertake the tireless work of evangelization in the environments he frequented, touching the hearts of the people he met and fostering in them the desire to change their lives and draw near to God. And he did so spontaneously, by demonstrating the Lord’s love and goodness with his manner of being and behaving. Indeed”, Cardinal Vallini continued, he had an “extraordinary ability to witness to the values he believed in, even at the cost of facing misunderstandings, obstacles and at times even being derided. Carlo felt a powerful need to help people discover that God is near us and that it is beautiful to be with him in order to enjoy his friendship and his grace”.
