Vatican City – This morning, Friday 13 June 2025, at 9 a.m. in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV presided over the celebration of the Third Hour and the Ordinary Public Consistory for the canonisation of eight Blesseds of the Catholic Church. In an atmosphere of prayer and solemnity, the Holy Father listened to the favourable opinion of the cardinals and officially announced the dates of the forthcoming canonisations.
The Blesseds to be proclaimed Saints are:
Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Mardin, martyr;
Peter To Rot, layman and catechist, martyr;
Vincenza Maria Poloni, foundress of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona;
María del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, foundress of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus;
Maria Troncatti, professed religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians;
José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, lay faithful, Venezuelan doctor;
Pier Giorgio Frassati, lay member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic;
Bartolo Longo, lay faithful, promoter of the Rosary devotion and founder of the Shrine of Pompei.
During the Consistory, Pope Leo XIV set two separate dates for the canonisations:
On Sunday 7 September 2025, Blesseds Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis will be inscribed in the Catalogue of Saints;
On Sunday 19 October 2025, the canonisations will take place for Ignatius Shoukrallah Maloyan, Peter To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, María del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, Maria Troncatti, José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros, and Bartolo Longo.
Clarifications regarding the cause of Carlo Acutis
In recent days, various speculations arose concerning the apparent omission of Blessed Carlo Acutis from the list of names made public ahead of today’s Consistory. Some had suggested a postponement or even a reconsideration of his canonisation, especially in light of the inclusion of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati among the candidates. However, everything proceeded according to the current canonical norms. In fact, Carlo Acutis’s cause had already been duly voted upon by the College of Cardinals at the Consistory held on 1 July 2023, and therefore required no further steps.
The case of Pier Giorgio Frassati was different: although Pope Francis had already announced the date of his canonisation, his cause had never been formally voted on in a Consistory. Today’s act therefore remedied this procedural gap, allowing for his official inscription among the Saints together with Carlo Acutis in a single and meaningful celebration in September.
Two dates, one message
The two dates chosen by Pope Leo XIV are not without significance. The canonisation of Frassati and Acutis—young laymen deeply in love with the Eucharist and charity—offers the Church a radiant image of holiness attainable in ordinary life, even for the younger generations.
The 19 October celebration, by contrast, gathers a wide range of vocations and charisms: from martyrdom to works of mercy, from missionary religious life to lay commitment within society and the Church. A chorus of holy lives that demonstrate the fruitfulness of grace in every state of life.
R.S.
Silere non possum