Fr. Matthew and St. Isidore youth traveled to Rome last summer to immerse themselves in holy places, become friends with the saints, and grow deeper in faith alongside a million young Catholics from around the world.
I sometimes fall into the habit of imagining saints as if they were made from the same “cookie cutter” — all looking the same, thinking the same, and even relating to God in the same way. But being in Rome reminded me that holiness doesn’t come in one mold. The communion of saints is made up of unique individuals, and God is inviting every kind of person into sainthood. There’s no formula, no “perfect” way of thinking, acting, or dressing that makes someone a saint.
So now, when I pray: “Lord, make me a saint,” I don’t mean “make me like St. Thérèse or St. Joan of Arc.” I try to mean, “make me into the person You created me to be.” And I want to extend that same hope to others — not asking God to make them into my vision of holiness, but believing He is already shaping them into saints in their own unique way.
When in Rome, we visited many saints and holy men and women — including Pope Francis’ tomb. The moment I looked forward to the most on this pilgrimage was praying at his tomb. After waiting two hours in line, I imagined a quiet, prayerful reunion. Instead, I was hurried through with a guard snapping, “Keep moving. Only one photo. No praying.”
Honestly, I was pretty angry. The moment I had been most excited for felt like the biggest letdown, and I sat down afterwards shaking with disappointment.
But in that silence, God gently shifted my perspective. I realized I didn’t actually need to be at the tomb to pray — I could talk to Pope Francis from anywhere. And that’s true of all the saints. I don’t need to be in Rome, or wait hours in line, to have access to their friendship and intercession. What a gift!
I believe the Lord called me to this pilgrimage for a very specific reason. All those encounters — with saints of the past and with the living saints in the making I traveled alongside — were His preparation. They built up to a single, quiet question He placed on my heart when I returned home: “Would you like to be a saint?“
That question is both humbling and exciting. It’s one I want to keep saying “yes” to each day. But sometimes, I convince myself that full holiness, full surrender to God’s will, is too far out of reach, and so I settle for partial holiness. But on this pilgrimage, God invited me to hope. To hope in His transformative power. To hope in the conversion of others. To hope in my own conversion. To hope that they — and I — really can become saints.
In response to this invitation, I want to take three tangible next steps. First, intercessory prayer: I want to pray intentionally for others, especially the ones I’m tempted to judge or dismiss. Not just listing their names, but really asking God to bless every part of their lives.
Second, I want to actively invite people I’ve “counted out” back to the Church and to the sacraments. This includes high school friends I never spoke to about faith, and college friends who stopped going to Mass. I want to be a vessel for God, letting Him use me to help draw others closer to Him.
Finally, I want to commit to going to regular Confession. Too often I’ve been complacent with my sins, settling for partial holiness. But if sainthood is truly possible — for me as well as for others — then Confession is where I recommit to that, allowing God’s mercy to really root out anything that holds me back.
This pilgrimage left me with a renewed desire for sainthood, not just as an abstract idea but as a daily and tangible choice. Holiness is not distant or impossible. He is inviting each of us to become the saint He created us to be. My prayer is that we all pursue this daily, with hope, courage, and joy!
Holiness is not distant or impossible. He is inviting each of us to become the saint He created us to be.
—Lauren, recent college grad