Discover young saints and blesseds recognized by Francis

“You have to discover who you are and develop your own way of being holy, whatever others may say or think. Becoming a saint means becoming more fully yourself, becoming what the Lord wished to dream and create, and not a photocopy.”

This is what Pope Francis told young people in his 2019 apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit (“Christ is alive”). Throughout his pontificate he has incessantly addressed young people and encouraged them to live fulfilling lives, which is another way of saying, aspire to be holy. 

Now, Pope Francis is planning to canonize two young blesseds, who can continue to inspire Catholics across the world. The first is 15-year-old Carlo Acutis, for whom the Pope approved a decree of canonization in May 2024; a date is yet to be set for the ceremony. This Pope also approved his beatification in 2020. 

The second is 24-year-old Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom the Pontiff said in June “will be a saint soon” although no official decrees have been published yet from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

As the Church also prepares for the 2025 Youth Jubilee in July of the Holy Year, and looks forward to the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea, Aleteia looks at some other young Catholics under 25 years old that Pope Francis has canonized and beatified since 2013, who can inspire the faithful of all ages.

The first young saint to be canonized by Pope Francis was José Sanchez del Rio (1913-1928) in October 2016. José was a 14-year-old boy who was killed by the Mexican army in 1928, during a period of violent Christian persecution by the state. He was part of the “Cristeros,” a Catholic protest movement that emerged in response to the repression. Although José never directly participated in any armed combat, in a clash with the army in 1928 he gave up his horse to another Cristero and was captured by the enemies. He was brutally executed but his last words were:

In 2017, Pope Francis canonized two very important child saints during a ceremony in Portugal on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. The siblings Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta Marto (1910-1920) were two of the three seers of Fatima and received apparitions of Our Lady at 8 and 7 years old respectively. They then both died a short time later, of the Spanish influenza at 10 and 9 years old, The third seer, their cousin Lucia, became a nun and lived to be 97 years old. 

Nunzio Sulprizio (1817-1836) was a young Italian man from a humble background who died early due to an intense illness. Born in 1817, he had a difficult childhood, as he lost both his parents and his grandmother by the age of 9 and was sent to live with an uncle who forced him to work in his shop as a blacksmith. Nunzio began developing gangrene in his leg that then slowly spread to other areas of the body. In 1831 he was hospitalized and a colonel took pity on him and decided to take care of him. He moved Nunzio to a hospital in Naples and then, when the disease was unable to be treated further, to his own home. In his various hospital stays Nunzio was always praying and trying to help other patients. All those around him saw his deep devotion to Mary and an ability to confront his pains and health issues with extreme peace. He succumbed to his illness at 19 years old. 

Cristóbal, Antonio, and Juan (1514/1515 - 1527 for the first and 1516/1517 - 1529 for the second two), were three Indigenous teenagers who converted to Catholicism and are considered to be the first martyrs of Mexico and largely the Americas. They were all three evangelized by Franciscan missionaries.

Cristóbal was the first to be martyred, as he tried to bear witness to the faith and convince his father, the main tribal leader, to also convert and in particular to stop drinking alcohol. As was common practice by missionaries at the time, Cristóbal started destroying pagan idols in their home. Angered by his actions, his father decided to kill his own son. 

For their part, Antonio and Juan offered to work as translators for a Dominican friar who wanted to establish a mission in another town. They also helped the friar to destroy pagan idols and symbols, and on one of these excursions they were murdered by a group of Indigenous people. 

They were beatified as a group by John Paul II in 1990 and then Pope Francis accepted them for canonization in 2017, without a miracle being attributed to their intercession.

Rolando Rivi (1931-1945) was a young Italian seminarian who was killed by the Italian partisan communists in the tense climate of the Second World War. Born in central Italy in a farming family, he discerned at an early age that he wanted to become a priest. He entered the diocesan seminary at 11 years old and began wearing his cassock everywhere. As the tensions of WWII started seeping into Italy the seminary closed and he went back to his hometown to continue to prepare for the priesthood with the local parish priest. He kept wearing his cassock and was well-liked among the other townspeople and his peers and was known for his devotion to Christ. In 1945 he was captured by partisan communist guerilla forces and tortured for three days before being killed. 

In 2018 the daughter of one of the murderers publicly apologized to Rolando’s sister and other family members still alive. 

Anna Kolesarova (1928-1944) was the first lay Slovak to be beatified in 2018. This young girl was martyred in 1944 by a Soviet soldier, who killed her after she fought off his attempt to rape her. Her village had been invaded by the Red Army and Anna was targeted by this soldier. Today her town is a pilgrimage destination for many young people who admire Anna’s strength in fighting for her life.

Pope Francis has beatified at least three other young women martyrs with similar lives: Benigna Cardoso da Silva, Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos, and Veronica Antal. 

Sandra Sabatini (1961-1984) was an Italian girl who dedicated her short life to serving the poor and the needy, especially people battling drug addictions. Born into a very Catholic family, she joined the Community of Pope John XXIII, an association that focuses on helping those on the margins of society. There she also met the man who would ask her to marry him, Guido Rossi, and they decided to live a relationship based on their faith, as they tried to follow God’s will for them. She also wanted to be a missionary doctor, to continue helping others physically and spiritually. She was tragically hit by a car and died at 22 years old. She was beatified in 2021.