Eucharist and charity: The traits that unite Frassati, Acutis

Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati are pictured in a combination photo. The Vatican announced June 13, 2025, that the canonization ceremony for Blessed Acutis and Blessed Frassati would take place Sept. 7. (OSV News photo/courtesy Sainthood Cause of Carlo Acutis and CNS files)VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV presided over his first canonization Mass Sept. 7, declaring the sainthood of two young Italians whose devotion to the Eucharist nourished a deep involvement in the cultures of their day.

Pier Giorgio Frassati was born April 6, 1901, in Turin and died there July 4, 1925, of polio at the age of 24. Carlo Acutis was born to Italian parents May 3, 1991, in London and died in Monza, Italy, Oct. 12, 2006, of leukemia at the age of 15.

Pope Francis had been scheduled to canonize Blessed Acutis in April during the Jubilee of Adolescents and to canonize Blessed Frassati in early August during the Jubilee of Young Adults.

Despite the delays of their canonizations, Kyle Smith found inspiration in Frassati’s story. 

“Pier Giorgio is my true friend,” he said. “He’s a constant source of encouragement on the path of holiness. That’s what’s beautiful about our faith and the Communion of Saints: we are all one body in heaven and on earth. Each of us should find saints to befriend and pray for their intercession.”

Smith, a 35-year-old parishioner of St. Joseph Parish in Houston, also connected deeply with Frassati’s story.

“Some saints lived with such heroic virtue that they can feel distant or hard to connect with,” he said. “But Pier Giorgio is different. He’s easy to relate to, especially for young people. There are pictures of him skiing, climbing, socializing, and serving. His life shows that holiness can unfold in the midst of the world as lay men and women, and not necessarily just through religious life. He was a heroic Christian in his own way. His life is proof of that.”

Frassati and Acutis both had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and went to Mass every day.
In 1905, just four years after Frassati was born, St. Pius X published the decree “Sacra Tridentina Synodus,” encouraging frequent, even daily reception of the Sacrament at a time when many Catholics received only a few times a year.

One of his Jesuit high school teachers encouraged him to go to Mass each day, receive the Eucharist and spend time in Adoration.

For Frassati, Smith said, what he loved most about Pier Giorgio was his humility and his love for Our Blessed Mother. 

“He confronted problems and endured sufferings like all of us,” he said. “But he was happy to make sacrifices and bear every difficult circumstance, often in silence and in secret. His faith was unshakable because he loved the Eucharist (receiving Holy Communion daily since he was young) and Our Lady’s Rosary.”

The same could be said for Acutis, who is well known for the database on global Eucharistic miracles he compiled as a young tech-savvy student.

Agostino Cardinal Vallini, Pope Francis’ delegate at Acutis’ beatification in 2000, said the young man’s strength came from “having a personal, intimate and deep relationship with Jesus,” one in which the Eucharist was “the loftiest moment.”

Acutis “never withdrew into himself but was able to understand the needs of people, in whom he saw the face of Christ,” the cardinal said at his beatification. His was “a luminous life offered completely to others as Eucharistic bread.”

Prayer and service to others went hand in hand for both Frassati and Acutis. Both also endured teasing and misunderstanding because of their devotion, but gently challenged their peers to embrace faith.

Living a little bit longer and in the tumultuous period between World War I and the rise of fascism in Italy, Frassati had more time to prepare for his vocation — he wanted to be a mining engineer and work with miners, who were among the poorest workers in the region.
He was born when Pope Leo XIII was pope, and he studied “Rerum Novarum,” the encyclical published in 1891 that launched Catholic social teaching and focused particularly on the rights of poor workers. And Frassati joined the Italian Popular Party, founded by Father Luigi Sturzo and based on Catholic social principles.

For Smith, his first job in Houston back in 2014 introduced him to the future saint, as he worked at Frassati Catholic High School in Spring.

“I didn’t know about Pier Giorgio beforehand. But when introduced, I felt an immediate connection,” he said. “And I’ve been walking in Pier Giorgio’s footsteps ever since, mostly recently on a hiking pilgrimage to the Alps in Italy. Pier Giorgio loved the mountains and the thrill of the ascent. And I felt a closeness with him in the midst of God’s creation. Hiking is hard work! The way can be steep and difficult, but just as in our spiritual lives, it’s so important to persevere without being discouraged.”

Two stories from Frassati’s life always encourage Smith.

After his bike, one he had saved hard-earned money for, was stolen, Frassati looked at the unfortunate situation with “complete” detachment, Smith said. 

“His response was that perhaps it was someone who needed it more than he did. He was completely detached from his earthly possessions.”

Frassati was also known to loudly sing songs at church and in public, even though he did not have a strong voice and was often criticized for singing out of tune. That didn’t matter to him, and he still insisted on singing “joyfully with full heart and voice,” Smith said.

Frassati’s life also emphasizes to Smith that the path to sainthood is for everyone. “You (yes, you!) can become a saint by the grace of God,” Smith said. “Pier Giorgio wasn’t so different from you and me. Persevere along the path of holiness, follow his example, and ask for his prayers. He will help lead you to God’s Love and Heaven!”

When Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass with a million people attending the Jubilee of Young Adults Aug. 3, he urged them to follow Jesus and do something great with their lives, improving themselves and the world.

“Let us remain united to Him, let us remain in His friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, Adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent confession and generous charity following the examples of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis,” the pope said.