The Church has just canonized young St. Carlo Acutis. A new, young saint who had all the markers of holiness from a young age. Perhaps this is the perfect time to publish this episode about my encounter with another young saint in the making. It’s the reason that I launched The Saint Foundry.

The other day, while I was at church for confession, something happened that I can’t shake off. It wasn’t dramatic in the usual sense—no flashing lights or big revelations—but it was powerful. I had a quiet encounter with a young man that reminded me, once again, that God is raising up saints right in our midst. I want to share that story with you because it’s encounters like these that have motivated me to start The Saint Foundry.

I went to confession recently at a parish I don’t usually go to. Was it providence the I found myself there? Maybe. As I waited my turn, I noticed the church was unusually filled with men—young, middle-aged, and older—lining up for the sacrament. I started praying my rosary while I was waiting for my turn in the box. The line was moving slowly, so there was time for prayer and reflection. Then I noticed one young man in particular.

From a distance he appeared to be in his early 20s. Young guy. Instead of sitting toward the back of the Church to do his penance–like most average Catholics do— he went straight up to the front of the church to do his penance before the tabernacle. A rosary hung from his hand. There was a focus, a seriousness, and a devotion about him that stood out. I whispered a quick prayer: “Lord, bless that kid. Give him whatever grace You were going to give me today. I’ll pass on it if You just bless him instead.”

As I continued to pray, I kept noticing him at intervals. He stayed kneeling in prayer, long after most would have finished their penance and left. At one point, he even started to leave, genuflected before exiting, and then reconsidered; turning back and returning to the pews. I thought, This one is different. This is no average Catholic, but a true saint in the making.

I debated whether I should say something to him; to offer some word of support or something. But I was afraid that would be strange or intrusive, so I decided to keep. my mouth shut. But after considering it I thought, If he’s still here after my confession, maybe God wants me to encourage him.

Eventually—and finally, after a long wait!—He was still there after I had come out of the confessional. So after finishing my own prayers and penance, I finally went up to him and said simply: “I just want you to know, God is with you. I can see it. You’re doing all right. Don’t give up.”

At those words, he burst into tears. Tremendous, shaking tears. He hugged me, thanking me over and over. It was clear he was carrying a heavy spiritual burden, and he needed to hear that God had not abandoned him.

We spoke for a while. I listened, offered him some counsel, and prayed with him. I won’t share the details of what he was going through, except to say it wasn’t some passing difficulty. It was a deep spiritual wound and a difficult spiritual trial. And yet, even in the middle of his pain, his heart was pure and inclined toward God. His devotion was real, his prayer life sincere, his love for the Eucharist strong.

I walked away convinced: God has His hand on this young man. He is one of the saints in the making. And it struck me again that we are living in an era of saints. They are all around us, hidden in the pews, walking among us. Most of them don’t even know it yet.

All it took in this moment was a small word of encouragement, a reminder that he wasn’t alone, to help strengthen him for the road ahead. Sometimes God asks us to do just that—to be the messenger of hope, to give someone the confirmation they need that God sees them, knows them, and has not left them.

I believe I met one of tomorrow’s saints that day. And I believe there are many more out there.

I started a new Substack (perhaps a subset to my existing apostolate) to help form and guide the saints in our time. It’s called The Saint Foundry. I won’t repeat everything that I’ve already said about what I plan to do with this new apostolate. You can read it for yourself here. I encourage you to subscribe to the new Substack as most of my immediate-future work will go there, as I step back a little bit from “The Catholic Adventurer” for a little while.

I hope you enjoyed this story. I go into a lot more detail in the podcast.

Here is the welcome and introduction to The Saint Foundry (write-up, and brief audio)

What's the Saint Foundry, Whether (and why) you should care, and what to expect

saintfoundry.substack.com/p/introduction-to-the-saint-foundry?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web