Pope Leo XIV presided over the first Ordinary Public Consistory of his pontificate on Friday morning, formally approving the canonizations of eight Blesseds, including two of the most beloved modern Catholic figures: Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

During the ceremony, the Holy Father confirmed that Acutis and Frassati will be canonized together on September 7. It’s a symbolic pairing—two young men from different centuries whose deep love for Christ, contagious joy, and commitment to service have stirred the hearts of Catholics worldwide.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who lived in early 20th-century Italy, was known for his vibrant faith, charity to the poor, and love for the outdoors. Carlo Acutis, beatified in 2020, was a tech-savvy teen from the early 2000s who created a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles before dying of leukemia at age 15. Their distinct lives reflect the timeless call to holiness in every age.

The double canonization had originally been planned under Pope Francis, who announced the dates during a General Audience on November 20, 2024. Acutis was slated for canonization on April 27 (Divine Mercy Sunday), while Frassati’s was scheduled for August 3.

However, after Pope Francis’ death on April 21, both dates were postponed. Friday’s announcement by Pope Leo resolved weeks of speculation, tying both canonizations into a unified event that promises to be a big Catholic celebration this year.

Pope Leo also announced that seven other Blesseds will be canonized in October:

• Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan, martyred in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide

• Peter To Rot, lay catechist and martyr in Papua New Guinea (1945)

• Vincenza Maria Poloni, Italian founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona

• Maria del Monte Carmelo Rendiles, Venezuelan foundress

• Maria Troncatti, missionary Salesian sister

• Bartolo Longo, founder of the Marian shrine at Pompeii

• José Gregorio Hernández, Venezuelan doctor and “saint of the poor”