You may already know this, but the new news in the Catholic world is that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati are going to be canonized on September 7! Bl. Pier Giorgio especially is one of my ‘special saints,’ so I am very excited about this. There are several other upcoming canonizations on October 19 as well of some more obscure blesseds, so I thought that as a brief little post I could share a line or two about each of these soon to be officially canonized saints.
Bl. Bartolo Longo (1841-1926): Italian lawyer who converted to Catholicism after being militantly anti-Catholic, and later aided building the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei.
Bl. Carlo Acutis (1991-2006): had a special love for the Eucharist, and famously created a website about the Eucharistic miracles before his death at only fifteen years old.
Bl. Ignatius Maloyan (1869-1915): Armenian archbishop and martyr who lived in present-day Turkey.
Bl. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros (1864-1919): Venezuelan doctor and Third Order Franciscan who made a special mission of treating the poor and was killed in an accident while travelling to a patient.
Bl. Maria Rendiles Martinez (1903-1977): Venezuelan founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus.
Bl. Maria Troncatti (1883-1969): Italian nun of the Salesian order who became a missionary in Ecuador.
Bl. Peter To Rot [pronounced tow rote] (1912-1945): lay catechist from Papua New Guinea who was arrested and executed during World War II due to his insistence on upholding monogamy. (I was very excited to see Bl. Peter To Rot was going to be canonized, since – while I didn’t already know about most of these more obscure blesseds – I had just discovered him and his story a month or so ago!)
Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925): part of a wealthy Italian family, he became a member of the Dominican Third Order and was known for his enthusiastic joy for life (he enjoyed time with friends, mountain-climbing, opera, etc.) and his service to the poor. He died of polio at only twenty-four, thought to have contracted it from his visits to the poor.
Bl. Vincenza Maria Poloni (1802-1855): Italian saint who founded the Sisters of Mercy in Verona.
Which of these blesseds did you already know about? Which saint’s story intrigues you the most?
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Oh wow, there are lots here! I’d only heard of Bl. Carlo Acutis and vaguely of Bl. Pier Giorgio, so I’m excited to find out more!
I find Bl. Carlo Acutis particularly inspirational, in that he was both very young to be a saint and also was like one of the “classic” saints in his prayer, trust, humility etc., but living in the modern world. Also, I’ve heard that one of these (I think Bl. Pier Giorgio) died, and then his family only found out after his death about his charitable visits, as all the poor people he’d helped came forward then. So really not letting his right hand know what his left was doing!
I’m also praying for the canonisation of Bl. Dominic Barbari, as he was both an apostle to England after the Reformation and I was received into the Church on his feast day!
Bl. Carlo is truly so inspiring. And yes, that was Bl. Pier Giorgio! Both are such amazing role models. <3
Oh, how cool! I don't believe I've heard of him before; I should look definitely look up more about him!
Hello Lizzie!
I only knew of Bl. Carlo Acuti, but all of the saints’ stories intrigue me. I definitely want to learn more about them.
Thank you for sharing – lovely post!
Yes, they’re all so wonderful. <3 Thank you for reading!
I think I remember you mentioning Pier Giorgio Frassati once, but I’ve never heard of any of these others. Truly we are surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses”!
Yes, I remember mentioning him to you too. Truly we are – it’s so comforting and awe-inspiring to think of!