Blessed Pier Giorgio led a short, yet extraordinary life

In 2011, I was in Venice where I had given a conference paper on the Venetian spiritual revival of the 16th century. Afterward, I made arrangements to take the train to Turin, and from Turin, Pollone. It was there I began my book, Pier Giorgio Frassati: Truth, Love, and Sacrifice.

Having published a book on a philosophical topic (Amor Dei in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries), I wanted to write a book on spirituality. I was on my way to meet with Pier Giorgio’s niece. Turin and Pollone are in the Italian Piedmont region, where Blessed Pier Giorgio was born and grew up, spending his summers in the town of Pollone where his family had a summer residence.

His niece gave me a gift: Pier Giorgio’s letters in Italian. I spent my time translating the letters to get a sense of the “person” of Pier Giorgio, who was known for his personal piety and Christ-centred charity.

The letters, however, seemed incomplete; they discussed family, studies, friends, spiritual life, and politics, but something appeared to be missing. It’s one thing for me to write about charity; it’s quite another to make charitable works part of one’s life, as Pier Giorgio did.

I researched additional sources, which I had found in Italian – documented testimonies of Pier Giorgio’s life. After reading numerous witness accounts, I came to a clearer picture of Pier Giorgio’s holiness. Because there was little written in English at the time I was doing my research, with the exception of a few translations from Italian, I decided to write a complete work on his life in English based on Pier Giorgio’s letters, testimonies collected by his sister Luciana, and several other Italian sources.

Having spent the Holy Year, the Year of Mercy, providentially in Rome, I was able to complete my work on this extraordinary young man.

What I discovered about him rounded out what I already knew, resulting in a book that introduces Pier Giorgio as both a man of prayer and a man of compassion, described by Pope Saint John Paul II as a “man of eight beatitudes.”

In the first two chapters I focus on the role of Pier Giorgio’s parents and his extended family, all of whom had a fundamental role to play in conveying values. Pier Giorgio was very attached to his maternal grandmother and his maternal aunt, and he had a strong friendship with his sister, Luciana. The resulting story reflects a boy with great sensitivity.

Pier Giorgio is born in 1901 in Italy’s industrial centre, Turin. His father, Alfredo, is the founder of the Italian newspaper, La Stampa. An agnostic, Alfredo has a great sense of truth and justices and believes in improving the social conditions of workers. Pier Giorgio’s mother, Adelaide, is a professional artist. Described as a “formal” Catholic, she transmits the value of courage.

Influenced by the values in his own home, and with the help of God’s grace, Pier Giorgio takes the disposition to grow in virtue that he receives from his parents, and makes it flourish.

Pier Giorgio struggles academically, and from a state school he is sent to a Roman Catholic Jesuit-run institute which has a significant impact on his spiritual life. Pier Giorgio is 12 years old when he begins his studies at the Jesuit Social Institute, where he develops a Marian and Eucharistic-centred spirituality.

Pier Giorgio has different spiritual directors and confessors throughout his life because he is very close to many priests. The spiritually rich environment of Roman Catholic education is providential and Pier Giorgio’s spiritual life begins to thrive. Studying with the Jesuits, Pier Giorgio discovers the value of charitable works and the St. Vincent Conferences, leading him to social activism in Turin and Berlin.

This is the portion of the book where I encountered difficulty due to the lack of information from the young man. Pier Giorgio does not say very much about his charitable works. He withdraws from making any detailed statements about his St. Vincent activities. Yet, these charitable commitments were numerous and demanding. This is also true for his intense prayer life. Pier Giorgio speaks little about them, but with the documented testimonies of witnesses, I was able to piece together what was taking place in Pier Giorgio’s life.

I learned that Pier Giorgio, known for his kindness, goodness, and smile, had a wide circle of friends, but also a closely knit group called – jokingly – “Shady Ones.” They were all Catholics who built their friendships on faith, and the objective of their society was to be united in faith while enjoying each other’s company.

Pier Giorgio’s father becomes Italy’s ambassador to Germany, giving Pier Giorgio the opportunity to travel throughout Germany and connect with lay people and priests while addressing the socio-political issues of the post-First World War period.

Throughout his life, Pier Giorgio conveys a tremendous sense of culture through art, music, and literature.

Pier Giorgio does meet a young woman, Lara, and hopes his mother will “approve” of her. He also plans to pursue a career in mining engineering which he studies at the Turin Polytech.

A Catholic activist, Pier Giorgio is left disillusioned when Mussolini comes to power. He remains committed to his Catholic youth/student associations, his Eucharistic and Marian prayer groups, and his charitable works reaching out to the poor. After contracting polio, he dies at the young age of 24.

Pier Giorgio: Truth, Love, and Sacrifice is the story of a young man whose life stood for truth and who, inspired by the Gospel, acted out of love as demonstrated by Christ.

Blessed Pier Giorgio teaches us that holiness is possible if we are willing to make sacrifices. As St. John Paul II said, “get to know him.”

Pier Giorgio: Truth, Love, and Sacrifice is available at Holy Family Catholic Gift and Book Store in Langley as well as through Amazon and (as an e-book) Indigo.