Two new saints celebrated by Baltimore Catholics

Baltimore Catholics joined the worldwide Catholic community in honoring two young saints this weekend as Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old computer whiz who died in 2006, and Pier Giorgio Frassati, a 24-year-old rock climber who died in 1925, were canonized Sept. 7 by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.

Father Evan Ponton, pastor of St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church in Little Italy, blesses the monstrance with incense to commence eucharistic adoration following their Sept. 6 parish Mass, which was dedicated St. Carlo Acutis, left, and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati. The pair were canonized by Pope Leo XIV in Rome on Sept. 7. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Both faith-filled and handsome, the two saints were celebrated across the Archdiocese of Baltimore with special Masses, dinners and opportunities for veneration.

In Baltimore’s Little Italy, Father Evan Ponton, pastor of St. Leo the Great, welcomed more than 100 people to an evening Mass Sept. 6, followed by eucharistic adoration and an Italian dinner featuring Father Leo Patalinghug’s Plating Grace food truck.

With photos of the saints prominently displayed at the front of the church, Father Ponton admitted in his homily that he had been praying to Carlo Acutis many times in recent months for help with computers – from fixing the Wi-Fi to keeping the printer working. “We are all hardwired to run the ‘Christ program,’” he said.

“All of us need a bit of conversion or reprogramming at times to become compatible with Christ,” Father Ponton said. “Your identity in Christ can never be stolen. It is already created for you. It was given to you. The saints, like Carlo and Pier, show us true authenticity. They show us the program and the process to becoming truly ourselves.”

During adoration, music filled the church while people prayed to the new saints and confessions were heard.

Students from Towson University meet with Wanda Gawronska, Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati’s niece, in Rome, August 2025. (Courtesy photo)

“It is such a joyous occasion to be able to bring my children to this celebration for saints who are very relatable to their young lives,” said Christina Tine, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, as she waited in line at the Plating Grace food truck with her two daughters.

The Schneider family – Mark, Kathleen and son Josh – parishioners at St. Margaret in Bel Air, traveled to Italy in August on a pilgrimage that took them to the mountains where St. Pier Giorgio hiked, to his hometown of Turin, and to Rome, where his body was on display. They had hoped to attend his canonization Aug. 3, but the ceremony was rescheduled following the death of Pope Francis in April.

“I saw this and thought, coming here makes it full circle,” Mark said.

Students from Towson University’s Newman Center also traveled to Italy this summer. Four of them, along with campus minister Brian Rhude, met Wanda Gawronska, St. Pier Giorgio’s niece and a promoter for his canonization.

A portrait of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati stands below a statue of Jesus, while Christopher Rhodovi, director of music at St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church, leads parishioners in music for the late-afternoon Mass Sept. 6 in Little Italy. The Mass was dedicated to both Frassati and Saint Carlo Acutis, who were canonized by Pope Leo XIV in Rome Sept. 7. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“Just being in the room, just seeing her, it was very, very beautiful,” said Lucia Gurri, 21, a junior at Towson. “She is very quick, very sharp. It was really lovely meeting her. It makes you think these people are so real. These people were like you and me.”

Mackenzie Gorczyca, 19, a sophomore, commented on all the photos of St. Pier Giorgio in Gawronska’s apartment, and the stories she told.

“She was so proud to be his niece. She just wanted to share all the amazing things about him,” Gorczyca said. “You could see how Christ worked in his life through Wanda.”

Gurri also admired St. Pier Giorgio’s courage.

“He was someone who wasn’t afraid to totally submit to the Lord’s calling to him,” Gorczyca said.

In Crofton, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton displayed its first-class relic of St. Carlo during weekend Masses. The lock of hair was given to the church after parishioners petitioned for a relic following a previous loan for a display about St. Carlo, according to Deacon Michael Fitzpatrick. As relics cannot be mailed, a visiting seminarian from the Diocese of Arlington transported it to the parish.

“That’s how it happened,” Deacon Fitzpatrick said. “I didn’t realize you had to petition for a relic. I knew they were hard to come by.”

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s newly formed youth group was able to view the relic, Deacon Fitzpatrick said.

“We got to talking about relics and how Carlo’s love of the Eucharist led him to this great thing he did for us, a website about the Eucharist,” Deacon Michael said. “To have teenagers hear it and get it and say ‘Wow,’ I think we make him a ‘go-to saint.’”

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

To view more photos of Baltimore-area Catholics celebrating the canonizations of two new saints, click through the slide show below: