The canonisation of two young Catholic laymen has been celebrated in Rome and in Chatswood, as Pope Leo XIV declared Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis to be saints.
The two saints were the first to be canonised by Pope Leo XIV, who said the pair were an invitation to all, but particularly young people, to strive for holiness.
“Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upward and make them masterpieces,” the Pope said yesterday.
“The simple but winning formula of their holiness,” he said, is accessible to everyone at any time. “They encourage us with their words: ‘Not I, but God,’ as Carlo used to say. And Pier Giorgio: ‘If you have God at the centre of all your actions, then you will reach the end.’”
In Our Lady of Dolours Church, Chatswood, the pews were full as Bishop Anthony Randazzo celebrated a Mass in honour of the two saints.
The celebration drew in people from across the Diocese, as Bishop Anthony installed a relic of Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati in the church, alongside a relic of Saint Carlo Acutis.
In his homily, Bishop Anthony said both saints echoed the message of the day’s gospel, Luke 14:17, which calls on people to carry their own cross.
“Saint Pier Giorgio and Saint Carlo did just that,” he said.
“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.”
He then called on the young people gathered to 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,” said Bishop Anthony.
“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.”
Our Lady of Dolours Church, Chatswood will likely become a place of pilgrimage for many across the country, as the only place in Australia housing relics of the world’s two newest saints.
Following the Mass there was a live stream of the canonisation from Rome.
You can read Bishop Anthony's homily in full here.