Pope Leo XIV marked a historic moment in his young papacy on Sunday by canonizing two new saints before thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Among them was Carlo Acutis, a tech-savvy teenager known as the “patron saint of the internet,” who has become the first millennial to be canonized in the history of the Catholic Church.

A Historic Canonization

At 10 a.m. local time, Pope Leo proclaimed Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati as saints of the universal Church, enrolling their names alongside holy figures like Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi. Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano, and his siblings were present in the square for the emotional moment.

“After due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance and having sought the counsel of many of our brother bishops, we declare and define blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis to be saints and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing they are to be venerated as such by the whole church,” the pope declared.

Saint Carlo Acutis: The First Millennial Saint

Born in 1991 in London and raised in Milan, Carlo Acutis combined his love of faith with his passion for technology. He created a website cataloging Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions, spreading devotion across the globe. His life was cut short when he died of leukemia at age 15 in 2006, but his witness has inspired countless young Catholics.

Acutis was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020 after two miracles were attributed to his intercession: the sudden healing of a Brazilian boy with a malformed pancreas in 2013, and the recovery of a Costa Rican woman from a severe brain injury in 2022. Vatican officials recognized the second miracle in May 2024, clearing the way for canonization.

Affectionately called “the first millennial saint,” Acutis is being hailed as a spiritual role model for today’s digital generation. His story bridges faith and technology, showing how holiness can be lived in a modern age.

Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati: The People’s Mountaineer

Alongside Acutis, the Church also celebrated the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian from Turin born in 1901. Known for his love of mountain climbing, his contagious joy, and his deep commitment to serving the poor, Frassati has long been called “the man of the Beatitudes.”

Frassati, a member of the Dominican Third Order, gave his short life in service to others, often helping polio patients through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He contracted the disease himself and died in 1925 at only 24.

The miracles attributed to him spanned nearly a century. The first was the healing of a man suffering from Pott’s disease of the spine in 1933, recognized by the Vatican in 1990, leading to his beatification by Pope John Paul II. The second miracle came in 2017, when American seminarian Juan Gutierrez recovered from a devastating Achilles tendon injury after a novena to Frassati.

The Path to Sainthood

The Catholic Church’s canonization process follows three steps: first, a person is declared venerable for living a heroically virtuous life. After one miracle, they are beatified as blessed. A second miracle opens the way to canonization, when the faithful may venerate them universally as saints.

Pope Francis, who passed away in April 2024, canonized over 940 saints during his papacy, including the Martyrs of Damascus and the founders of religious orders. Sunday’s ceremony was Pope Leo XIV’s first, signaling continuity with his predecessor’s emphasis on models of holiness for every generation.

Witnesses For Today

For many in St. Peter’s Square, the canonizations highlighted the universality of the call to holiness. Carlo Acutis’ embrace of technology and Pier Giorgio Frassati’s zest for life offer different but complementary examples of how to live for Christ in ordinary circumstances.

“Saints are not far from us—they show us that holiness is possible today,” Pope Leo XIV reminded the faithful.

As the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis especially resonates with younger Catholics navigating faith in a digital world. Paired with Pier Giorgio Frassati, whose joy and compassion still inspire young people nearly a century after his death, the Church now holds up two new witnesses to Christ who speak powerfully to today’s generation.