Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925).

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Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Image: FAMVIN.ORG

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was an Italian Catholic social activist, who was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic (T.O.S.D.). He has been Beatified by The Roman Catholic Church.

Frassati was born 6 April 1901, in Turin, into a prominent family, which owned the noted liberal newspaper, called La Stampa. His father, an Agnostic, had founded the newspaper and was active in national politics. He served in the Italian Senate and was later their Country's Ambassador to Germany.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (centre).

Image: CATHOLIC TREASURE CHEST

Frassati was dedicated to works of Social Action, Charity, Prayer and Community. He was involved with Catholic Youth and Student Groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic Action, and was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Image: BETTNET.COM

He would often say: "Charity is not enough; we need social reform."He helped establish a newspaper, entitled "Momento", whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical "Rerum Novarum". He joined the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, in 1918, and spent much of his time helping the poor.

Frassati died 4 July 1925, of poliomyelitis. His family expected Turin's elite and political figures to come to offer their condolences and attend the funeral; they naturally expected to find many of his friends there as well. They were surprised, however, to find the streets of the City lined with thousands of mourners as the cortege passed by, out of the reverence felt for him among the many people he had directly helped during his brief life. He was buried in the family crypt in the Pollone Cemetery of the City.

Pier Giorgio Frassati,

in 1920, at his father's office.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The poor of the City began to petition the Archbishop of Turin to begin The Cause for Frassati's Canonisation. The Process was opened in 1932 and a thorough examination of his life began. In 1989, Pope John Paul II visited his tomb and paid honour to him, calling him a man of The Beatitudes. That same Pope Beatified him on 20 May 1990.

After this, Frassati's body was transferred, from the Family Crypt, for re-interment in the Cathedral of Turin, where it is available for Veneration by the public.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's Feast Day is celebrated on 4 July by the Dominican Order.

Frassati is the Namesake and Patron of Frassati Catholic Academy in Wauconda, Illinois, United States of America, a Middle School, founded in the Archdiocese of Chicago, in 2010, and also Frassati Catholic High School, which opened August 2013, in Houston, Texas, in the United States of America.

Pier Giorgio’s funeral, 1925.

Pier Giorgio’s funeral was a triumph. The streets of Turin were lined with a multitude of mourners, who were unknown to his family. The poor and the needy, whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years. Many of these people, in turn, were surprised to learn that the Saintly young man they knew had actually been the heir of the influential Frassati family.

Image: DC FRASSATI FELLOWSHIP

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic School opened, as part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, on 3 September 2013 in the Scarborough area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma, United States, awards the "Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Award" to its students who have performed an extraordinary level of service to others.

Frassati Australia, based in Brisbane, Australia, Venerates Pier Giorgio Frassati, as their Patron, and as a role model for young men. Frassati Australia engages young men in the Catholic Faith and encourages them to encounter Christ, through living an authentic Catholic Life in Brotherhood and Charity. Currently, there are at least three Frassati Houses in Brisbane, and around twelve young men in these Houses.