by Juan Camilo Pérez
One of the things that has always interested me is the process of “making a saint.” The process of declaring someone a saint can sometimes be long and frustrating, but patience is a virtue of the saints, I suppose.
On the weekend of Sept. 6-7, I learned that how you “make a saint” has more to do with personal growth in holiness than it does with any “saint-making” process.
The canonizations of St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, which I was privileged to attend, taught me that becoming a saint means growing in holiness, which means staying close to Jesus, especially Jesus in the Eucharist.
My time in Rome was a true blessing. Not only did I experience the glorious Mass of canonization, but I also had the privilege and honor of meeting St. Carlo Acutis’ mother, as well as the rest of his family. They are inspirational because they have taken on the role of evangelizing — a task left to them by their son and brother, and a task now given to the rest of us as well.
The role of a digital missionary, one inspired by St. Carlo Acutis, is to make Jesus known and loved through the means at our disposal today.
St. Paul wrote letters. Today, he might use social media. St. Carlo Acutis inspires us to be the St. Pauls of today — missionaries in a new way. St. Pier Giorgio Frassati inspires us to be active in spreading the love of Christ by being socially aware of the culture in which we live and challenging it with the love of Jesus.
The impressive ceremony of canonization, in which the Holy Father is asked to declare new saints, takes place during the celebration of the Eucharist.
I was personally moved by the powerful pronouncement of Pope Leo XIV, who stated that he names these saints for the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity and the good of the Christian people.
So, the saints are our heavenly friends who pray with and for us. St. Pier Giorgio Frassati teaches through his great friendships to reach for the heights (Verso l’alto), and St. Carlo Acutis helps us remember the pathway to heaven through a close relationship with the Eucharistic Lord. Great patrons for us today.
Now that I have experienced firsthand the “saint-making process,” I realize more clearly that the real saint-naming process is a close friendship with Jesus.
Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us.
Juan Camilo Pérez is the pastoral associate, director of religious education, and a youth minister at St. Pancras in Glendale, where he directs the Fuego de Dios community.