Blesseds Carlo, Frassati canonizations to be celebrated with Mass in Brick

Two young saints-to-be, both known for their faithful witness and example to young people of the path to sainthood, will be canonized together in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Leo XIV on Sept. 7.

The canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Church’s first Millennial saint, will be celebrated in the Diocese with a Mass on Sept. 7 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Dominic Church in Brick, home of the Diocesan Shrine of Carlo Acutis.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., a longtime promoter of these two young examples, will be principal celebrant of the Mass. Recitation of the novena for St. Carlo and veneration of his relic will also be part of the celebration, and St. Carlo devotionals will be available for purchase. Leading up to the Mass, the diocesan Eucharistic Miracles of the World Exhibit curated by St. Carlo Acutis will be open to the public on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7.

Originally set for canonization on April 27, Blessed Carlo’s ceremony was postponed upon the death of Pope Francis on April 21. The new date of Sept. 7 was set during the first ordinary public consistory of cardinals of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate in June, moving Blessed Pier Giorgio’s canonization as well from the original Aug. 3 date during the Jubilee of Youth.

]Recognizing him for his powerful and youthful witness, Bishop O’Connell named Blessed Carlo Acutis the patron of all Catholic schools and young people of the Diocese in April 2022, during a Mass in St. Dominic Church when a relic of Blessed Carlo was received by the parish. The relic was brought to the Diocese by Father Marian Kokorzycki, St. Dominic’s parochial vicar, who obtained it during a pilgrimage to Assisi in 2021.

A daily communicant and catechist, Blessed Carlo called the Eucharist his “highway to heaven.” He enjoyed activities like soccer and video games and is known for putting his computer skills to evangelical use by creating websites on Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. He died of leukemia at the age of 15 in 2006 and was beatified by Pope Francis on Oct. 10, 2020.

On Oct. 1, 2023, Bishop O’Connell dedicated the diocesan Shrine of Blessed Carlo Acutis at St. Dominic’s. The young blessed’s mother, Antonia Salzano, attended the dedication and placed a relic of her son in the Shrine. Speaking to some 1,200 faithful gathered for the occasion, she called Carlo’s presence at St. Dominic Parish “a work of God,” and recounted how her son’s faith was the catalyst for her return to the Church.

Born in 1901, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an Italian young person who was affectionately called the “Man of the Beatitudes” by Saint John Paul II for his exemplary work of bringing comfort and happiness to those who were poor, suffering, meek, hungry, thirsty, and in need of mercy, and who was himself clean of heart, a peacemaker, and persecuted for the sake of the Gospel (cf. Mt 5:3-10). A Catholic social activist, he died at the young age of 24 while in charitable service to the people who were sick and dying in his community. Some 20,000 people attended his funeral in Turin, Italy.

Photo caption: Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati are pictured in a combination photo. The Vatican announced June 13, 2025, that the canonization ceremony for Blessed Acutis and Blessed Frassati will take place Sept. 7. OSV News photo/courtesy Sainthood Cause of Carlo Acutis and CNS files  

More information about the diocesan Mass will be made available as the date approaches on https://trentonmonitor.com/ and https://stdominicsparish.com/.