Thousands will gather in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, Sept. 7 for the highly anticipated canonization of two modern saints – but if flying to Rome isn’t an option, one can watch every moment of the joyous occasion via livestream at OSV News.
Pope Leo XIV will declare Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati saints of the Catholic Church at Sunday’s liturgy, elevating the two – who lived about a century apart – as models of holiness, particularly for children, youth and young adults. The canonization Mass begins at 10 a.m. in Rome (4 a.m. EDT).
The Vatican News livestream of the event will be accessible at osvnews.com, with the broadcast starting Sept. 7 at approximately 9:45 a.m. in Rome. For those in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and others who live in Eastern Daylight Time zone, the livestream begins at 3:45 a.m.
In addition, EWTN will broadcast the liturgy and canonizations as they take place, with an encore Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.
One can also follow OSV News’s partner Catholic News Service Rome on Facebook and X, along with CNS Rome senior correspondent Carol Glatz on X, for live updates on the canonizations.
Dubbed the “Man of the Beatitudes” by St. John Paul II, Frassati – born in Turin in 1901 to an influential family – began receiving daily Communion at a young age, while serving the poor through the St. Vincent de Paul Society and evangelizing his friends.
A Lay Dominican, Frassati also participated in demonstrations to defend the Catholic faith against the Communist and Fascist parties in Italy. His passion for outdoor activities such as mountaineering has made him a patron of athletes. Frassati died in 1925 at age 24, having contracted polio, potentially from his service to the sick.
The sunny-faced Carlo – who was born in London in 1991 and grew up in Milan, Italy – displayed an early attraction to the spiritual life, reciting the rosary and attending Mass daily, serving as a catechist, volunteering at a church soup kitchen and tutoring children with their homework. At the same time, Carlo was known for his enthusiasm for typical teenage interests, such as video games, pets, soccer and music.
Carlo died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, offering his sufferings for the church and for then-Pope Benedict XVI. The teen’s brief life of extraordinary holiness quickly set him on the path to sainthood. He was declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis in 2018 and beatified in 2020, with the pope announcing in November 2024 that he would elevate Blessed Carlo to sainthood during the April 25-27 Jubilee for Adolescents in Rome.
However, Pope Francis’s death and subsequent funeral led to the postponement of Carlo’s canonization, with many pilgrims already in Rome having to pivot in their plans.
On June 13, Pope Leo announced that both Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati would be canonized on Sept. 7.
