As a young adult ministry leader at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Blackwood, I had the privilege to attend the Canonization Mass of Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis in Rome with Adrianne Bendu of Saint Peter Parish, Merchantville, and Father Ed Friel, pastor of Mary, Queen of All Saints, Pennsauken.
I am so excited for the young Church, as these two young men are living proof that sainthood is achievable by ordinary men and women. Both Sts. Acutis and Frassati are examples that we can live lives of heroic virtue.
One of my favorite definitions of becoming a saint is by podcaster Father Mike Schmitz, who defines a saint as “continuously saying ‘yes’ to Jesus.” One may ask, how did Sts. Frassati, Acutis or any other saint keep saying “yes” to Jesus’ call of picking up one’s cross, denying oneself and following Him?
Saint Frassati’s life was defined by the virtues of generosity and charity. He grew up with noble Italian parents who would be considered wealthy in today’s time, but would often be found serving the poor by giving away his shoes and ministering to the sick in the midst of the polio epidemic in the early 1900s. He would also bring others to Christ by playing billiards at local bars in Turin, Italy. If he defeated his opponents, he would invite them to attend Mass. He was also a famous mountaineer and would recite a Rosary as he and his friends scaled mountains or celebrated Mass at the summit of the mountains.
For the Apostle of the Eucharist, as some people refer to Saint Acutis, his love for the Eucharist started at a young age after receiving First Holy Communion in Milan, Italy. He always attended daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration and famously declared, “the Eucharist is my highway to Heaven.” When he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, Saint Acutis offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and the Church. He would also take up a fascination in computer science and create a website dedicated to Eucharistic miracles.
Can you believe that there is a saint in heaven that created a website promoting God and His love for us? I look at Saint Acutis’ life in the lens of: if he were still alive, he would be a few years older than myself, and he’s in heaven! If he can become a saint, why can’t I or anyone else on this earth?
As this Jubilee Year of Hope nears closer to its conclusion, I find solace in not only the lives of Sts. Acutis and Frassati, but in all the saints and angels in heaven. While some may say sainthood is not for the average Joe, Sts. Acutis and Frassati say otherwise. Sainthood is attainable, and we are all called to be saints as God longs for us to be with Him when our earthly pilgrimages come to our respective ends.
Saint Carlo Acutis, Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati, ora pro nobis!
David Pirolli is a parishioner of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Haddon Township.
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