When your high school’s namesake gets proclaimed a saint, there’s no playbook for how to celebrate. 

A situation like this is not unprecedented in the Catholic Church — after all, think of all the parishes and schools named after Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII or Mother Teresa before they officially became saints in the mid-2010s. But it’s been several years — at least since the canonization of St. John Henry Newman in 2019 — since numerous Catholic communities named after a person not yet canonized have been able to witness their patron become a saint in real time. 

Such was the case last weekend for students at a Catholic high school in Texas as they celebrated their patron with an all-night school lock-in and canonization watch party.

Since his untimely death from polio at age 24 on July 4, 1925, Pier Giorgio Frassati has inspired young people around the world with his adventurous spirit, devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, and service to the poor he encountered around his home in northern Italy.

As Pope Leo XIV proclaimed Frassati and Carlo Acutis saints on the morning of Sept. 7, thousands of people watched in person in St. Peter’s Square and millions more tuned in around the world. Those watching included a group of 150 or so students — almost half of the school’s enrollment — from Frassati Catholic High School in Spring, Texas, a community north of Houston.  

Tim Lienhard, advancement director at Frassati Catholic, which was founded in 2013 under the care of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, told the Register on Monday that the vibe on campus remains “euphoric” — despite the fact that more than a hundred students stayed up all night long between Saturday night and Sunday morning to watch the celebrations in Rome from afar. 

“Most schools never get the chance to be around when their patron is canonized,” he noted. “All of these very special graces were at play at the same time.”

Students arrived at Frassati Catholic around 7 p.m. on Saturday and enjoyed a festive atmosphere, snacking on pizza and playing sports all over campus — something the athletic Frassati would definitely have approved of.  

At 11:30 pm, however, the students turned to something Frassati loved even more than sports: the Holy Eucharist. Chaplain Father David Ramirez arrived and exposed the Blessed Sacrament in the school’s newly renovated chapel until 2:30 a.m., attracting many students for a time of silent prayer as the canonization of their patron drew near.

 

Anne Marie Medina, a Frassati Catholic sophomore, told the Register that the whole experience was unforgettable; the lock-in was a blast, as she and her friends played ping pong, board games and archery tag as music played over the school’s PA system. But when the opportunity to adore Christ in the Eucharist came around, the quiet atmosphere of the chapel provided a perfect preparation for the canonization.

“It was so cool to see so many kids be touched by His presence in the Eucharist. … It was a very peaceful time for many of them, me included,” Medina said. “It was a Pier Giorgio Frassati moment.”

Students then gathered with pillows and blankets in the school assembly hall for a 3 a.m. watch party of EWTN’s canonization coverage.

 

Lindsay Medina, Anne Marie’s mother and a founding staff member at the school, was moved to tears by the whole experience. 

“I never thought we would see this day,” she told the Register. “It’s now come and gone, and it’s real. Devotion to him is going to spread even farther.”

After showers and a quick reset and cleanup of the school at dawn, the community celebrated Sunday Mass with retired Archbishop Michael Miller of Vancouver, now residing in Houston, presiding. 

Bishop Joe Vásquez had given permission for the school to celebrate a votive Mass in honor of their new patron. Between 800 and 1,000 alumni, parents and friends of the school were there for the Mass and a reception afterwards, where the school distributed 1,400 T-shirts to commemorate their patron’s canonization.

Members of the Frassati Catholic community were some of the many Catholics around the world who had to adjust their plans and expectations after Frassati’s canonization date was changed in June.  

The school had planned to bring a group of more than 50 pilgrims on a tour to Italy specifically for their patron’s originally scheduled Aug. 3 canonization. When the announcement came that Frassati would be canonized in September instead, it was simply far too late to change the travel plans for such a large group — but the pilgrims went in August anyway. 

Lienhard said the change in plans was actually a blessing, because if the pilgrims had been there on the actual canonization date, the massive crowds would have inhibited their freedom to explore and to benefit spiritually. As it was, some of the Frassati Catholic pilgrims got the chance to touch and venerate the saint’s coffin and even met Frassati’s 98-year-old niece, Wanda Gawronska. 

Lienhard — who spent at least part of the weekend scouring all the references to “Blessed” on the school’s website and replacing them with “Saint” — said the canonization celebrations were a unique moment of grace for the school. 

He said: “We had this feeling that God wants this school to exist. There’s no way [we could] come this far in 13 years without Frassati’s intercession.”