Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an Italian Catholic social activist in the early 20th century who dedicated his life to serving the poor and standing up for justice. Beatified in 1990, he lived the Beatitudes in how he embodied the qualities of meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati – A Saint in the Making
Born on April 6, 1901 in Turin, Italy, Pier Giorgio Frassati’s noble character was evident from childhood when he gave his own shoes to a poor boy he saw begging while barefoot. His father Alfredo owned the noted La Stampa newspaper, though his politics leaned more liberal in contrast to Pier’s growing passions for Catholic social justice. Could the comfortable son of such privilege truly empathize with the struggles of the marginalized?Pier’s actions left no doubt. At 17 he joined Catholic Action, a year later the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, embarking on a lifelong mission to serve the “least of these” – the poor, sick, and outcast inhabiting Turin’s back alleys.
Possessing a gregarious personality, Pier’s network of friends matched his range of talents –mountaineering, swimming, theatre. But date girls? His disinterest perplexed peers. Pier reasoned such worldly fraternization could distract from higher callings. In 1922 he professed vows as a lay Dominican, taking the name Girolamo after the fiery reformist Girolamo Savonarola. Like his new namesake, Pier burned with zeal to live the Gospel radically through political activism. Defying rising fascism, he marched in workers’ rights demonstrations, published articles critiquing Mussolini, and co-founded Momento newspaper to promote Catholic social teachings.
Yet Pier’s most impassioned work happened away from protests within slum tenements. His lda Pedrino , a childhood friend, remarked, “He loved the poor to the point of pickpocketing his father.” He gave generously, visiting the sick bearing gifts of food, clothing and the rare miracle – his comforting presence. In quelling the anxieties of the suffering, Pier perhaps drew strength from visions he confided of the Virgin Mary, manifesting as a girl of unearthly beauty exuding maternal warmth.
So abundant was grace in Pier’s life of only 24 years. So ripe the spiritual fruit born through simple acts of mercy. Was this young man, still evolving intellectually and emotionally, yet full enough of wisdom and grace to become a saint for modern youth? On July 4, 1925 as polio took his last labored breaths Pier Giorgio Frassati’s luminous legacy was only dawning.
In his mere 24 years, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati embodied the Beatitudes in serving the poor and sick, promoting justice, and living with purity of heart. Though struck down by polio in 1925, the Turin youth’s radiant witness of faith continues inspiring modern Catholics to build God’s kingdom through small, merciful actions.
References
John Paul II. Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way. Warner Books, 2004.
Società San Paolo. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: An Ordinary Christian. Edizioni San Paolo, 1990.
Weigel, George. Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II. HarperCollins, 1999.