As I was prayerfully preparing to write this column, it dawned on me that Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati’s canonization was soon to occur in Rome. But to my surprise, I learned that these two young men, just hours earlier, had been declared the Catholic Church’s newest saints!
So, I feel the Holy Spirt desires that we prayerfully reflect on Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati’s deep commitment to protecting human life, promoting social justice and peace, and celebrating creation!
St. Carlo Acutis was only 15-years-old when he passed on. His love for the Eucharist gave him the courage to speak out in defense of human dignity–especially in regard to the poor and vulnerable.
For example, during a high school classroom debate on abortion, Carlo’s classmates remember him passionately defending the right to life of tiny human beings–from the moment of conception.
He was also known for standing up for kids who got bullied at school, especially disabled kids. And he regularly brought food from his home to homeless persons.
With so many young people today experiencing loneliness, meaninglessness, and depression, St. Carlo Acutis’ young Eucharistic-centered life of courageous, selfless action on behalf of the unborn, physically disabled, and poor can serve as a powerful example and elixir to much of what troubles youth–and older adults as well (see: http://bit.ly/3IojPQS and https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/carlo-acutis-the-first-millennial-saint/).
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, only 24-years-old when he passed on, was affectionately called the “Man of the Beatitudes” by St. Pope John Paul II because of his love and commitment to those who were poor, hungry, thirsty, meek, and in need of mercy–a love and commitment nourished by his dedication to the Eucharist (daily Mass), and devotion to the Blessed Mother.
At 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his time to the sick and needy, taking care of orphans, and helping wounded soldiers returning from World War I.
While in college he joined Catholic Action, and the People’s Party, an organization that was engaged in political activism based on Catholic Social Teaching–the groundbreaking evolving doctrine launched by Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical letter Rerum Novarum (On Capital and Labor” http://bit.ly/3Khy1Ma) dedicated to promoting the dignity of workers who were, and still are, often denied basic labor rights such as safe working conditions, a living wage, reasonable working hours, and the right to form trade unions.
St. Frassati was also actively involved in the Catholic student international union Pax Romana whose purpose is dedicated to promoting social justice, integrity of creation, and world peace (see: https://www.imcs-miec.org/).
At the website dedicated to St. Frassati (see: https://frassatiusa.org/), it is noted that his selfless love for those in need was consistent, even right up to his death–a death caused by polio believed to have been contracted from his regular visits to the poor and sick.
On the eve before he passed on, barely able to write with a partially paralyzed hand, he scribbled a note to a friend asking him to deliver medicine he had planned to give to a poor sick man he had been visiting named Converso.
When another friend asked St. Frassati how he could stand the smells and filth of the slums he frequently visited, he answered, “Don’t ever forget that even though the house is sordid, you are approaching Christ. Around the sick, the poor, and the unfortunate, I see a particular light, a light that we do not have.”
Surely, the Christ-centered, humble Frassati and Acutis had the light of Christ! May we be inspired by their heavenly light to follow Christ as wonderfully as they did!
