Pope Leo XIV announces two new saints, including first canonized millennial

Pope Leo XIV proclaimed a -year-old computer genius the Catholic Church s first millennial saint along with another popular Italian figure who spent his life spreading his faith before dying at a young age Leo canonized Carlo Acutis who died of Leukemia in and Italian trainee and avid outdoorsman Pier Giorgio Frassati who died in his early s of polio in during an open-air Mass in St Peter s Square before an estimated people Leo announced both saints created masterpieces out of their lives by dedicating them to God The greatest vulnerability in life is to waste it outside of God s plan Leo reported in his Sunday homily The new saints are an invitation to all of us especially young people not to squander our lives but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces POPE FRANCIS KICKS OFF HOLY YEAR AT VATICAN WITH OVER MILLION VISITORS EXPECTEDAcutis was born on May and earned the nickname God s Influencer after creating a multilingual website documenting so-called Eucharistic miracles recognized by the church The teen finished the site at a time when such projects were typically in the realm of professionals In October Acutis fell ill and was diagnosed with acute leukemia He died within days at just years old He was entombed in Assisi Pope Francis fervently willed the Acutis sainthood event forward convinced that the church needed someone like him to attract young Catholics to the faith while addressing the promises and perils of the digital age Leo inherited the Acutis cause but he too has pointed to equipment especially artificial intelligence as one of the main challenges facing humanity LGBTQ CATHOLICS MARCH THROUGH ST PETER S BASILICA IN JUBILEE RITE AS VATICAN CALENDAR ENTRY STIRS CONTROVERSYFrassati the other saint canonized was a beacon for lay spirituality Leo explained Frassati lived his faith through constant humble mostly hidden system to the poorest of Turin noted the Frassati Catholic Academy He lived totally and gave away food money or anything that anyone demanded of him It is assumed that he contracted polio from those he ministered to in the slums of Turin Italy before his death Fox News Digital s Ashley J DiMella and the Associated Press contributed to this account