Homily given by Bishop Anthony Randazzo
Bishop of Broken Bay
Canonisation Mass of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati & Saint Carlo Acutis
7 September 2025
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
What a grace-filled day this is! In the communion of the Church, here on earth and in heaven, we rejoice together as the universal Church proclaims what so many of us have already known in our hearts: that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis are now Saints in the glory of heaven. Their canonization today is not only a cause for celebration, it is a summons to each of us: young and old, rich and poor, across all cultures and languages. It is a call to holiness, a call to become saints.
Today’s readings speak deeply to this vocation. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says: “Whoever does not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27)
Saint Pier Giorgio and Saint Carlo did just that. Though they died young, they lived fully in Christ. Their lives were not about avoiding suffering or clinging to comfort, but about loving Jesus and bringing him to others, no matter the cost. That, my sisters and brothers, is what holiness looks like in action. Sometimes, we are tempted to think that saints are people from another time, monks in deserts or nuns behind cloistered walls. But today’s saints remind us that sanctity is not only for the few, or the extraordinary. It is the ordinary, daily offering of our lives to God. It is the vocation of every baptized person.
Pier Giorgio and Carlo lived in very different times, one born at the dawn of the 20th century, the other at the dawn of the 21st. Yet their message is the same and their lives are strikingly parallel in holiness. Today, they speak with one voice, inviting us to make our own lives a “revolution of charity” that can change the world. (cf John Paul II, 20 May 1990)
The Book of Wisdom asks: “What person can know the intentions of God? Who can divine the will of the Lord?” (Wis 9:13) Divine ways are indeed mysterious, but in the lives of these two saints, we are given a glimpse into God’s design.
God raised up Pier Giorgio and Carlo to show us that holiness is possible today, even as students, athletes, tech and digital enthusiasts, and friends. They remind us that to live fully in Christ is not to flee the world, but to bring Christ into it.
Saint Pier Giorgio once said: “Charity is not enough; we need social reform”. Another powerful way to express this is we must bring God to the poor, not just bread. He was a man of the Beatitudes, a lover of the poor, of the mountains, of beauty and justice. He studied engineering not for personal gain, but to serve the working poor. He climbed mountains, not for thrill, but as a metaphor of the spiritual ascent to God. His joy was magnetic, his faith contagious. He immersed himself in the political and cultural life of a society often hostile to faith, and he did so with gentleness, courage, and unwavering love for Christ.
Pier Giorgio lived a profoundly Eucharistic life in the middle of the world. His faith did not separate him from others; it sent him out to them. In the words of Saint Paul in today’s second reading, Pier Giorgio became “a father” in Christ to the many he served, reflecting the same heart that Paul showed toward Philemon and Onesimus. (cf Phil 9-10) Like Paul, Pier Giorgio carried others in his heart, interceding for them then, and now from heaven.
And what can we say about Saint Carlo Acutis? A teenager of our time, someone who could easily be sitting in our pews, playing on our soccer fields, surfing our internet. Carlo had a simple but profound motto: “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” He used the tools of his generation, computers, the internet, social media, not to grandstand or promote himself, but to evangelize. He built websites cataloguing Eucharistic miracles around the world so that others might come to know and love Jesus in the Eucharist. And he lived what he preached: daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, regular confession, kindness to all, especially the marginalized.
Like Pier Giorgio, Carlo had a vibrant love for life. He hiked, laughed, played with friends, enjoyed games. But his greatest joy was Christ. His life is proof that sanctity is not stifling, it is liberating. It is not the enemy of joy it is its source. His holiness was embedded not in the extraordinary, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love.
My dear young brothers and sisters, especially you, look at the lives of these two saints. They are not just in heaven; they are with you. They walk beside you. Like Saint Paul, they intercede for you with a fatherly love, reminding you that your life has meaning, your faith has power, and your friendship with Christ can change the world.
In a world that often lacks ideals, where so much seems to be falling apart, these saints whisper the truth: Holiness is possible. And holiness is joyful.
After this Mass, I invite all of you to visit the Shrine in this very church, where the relics of Saint Carlo Acutis and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati are enshrined. Not just today, but regularly. These relics are not magic; they are signs of the real communion we have with our brothers in the faith who are now fully alive in the presence of God.
Go there. Pray. Ask their intercession. Bring your burdens, your questions, your dreams. Ask them to walk with you on the path to holiness and ask them to help you discern how God is calling you to live that holiness, in marriage, as a single or consecrated person, or as a priest.
Their lives are a testimony; their relics are a presence. They continue to accompany us, right here, right now.
To all gathered here today: families, young people, religious, seminarians, clergy, friends, hear once again the message of these saints:
Live now for Jesus Christ.
Go out to the world and proclaim the Good News in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father.
And above all, do not be afraid of holiness. Do not be afraid to be saints. The world needs your witness. The Church requires your courage. Jesus Christ desires your heart.
Through the prayers of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and Saint Carlo Acutis, may we all answer the universal call to holiness with joy, with boldness, and with love.
Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati & Saint Carlo Acutis. Pray for us.