Catholic Vancouver May 02, 2024
News that Pier Giorgio Frassati could be canonized welcomed in Vancouver
By Courtney Mares
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, who keeps a portrait of Blessed Pier Giorgio hanging in his office, says he is “thrilled” to hear that the devout Catholic and mountain climber may be canonized during the 2025 Jubilee celebrations.
He said the saint has been a favourite of his for years. “Knowing this, Father John Horgan gave me the gift of the wonderful portrait of him, which is hanging in my office.”
Father David Bellusci, OP, author of Pier Giorgio Frassati: Truth, Love, and Sacrifice, said to read Blessed Frassati’s letters is to learn of his “warmth and affection, his love for his family, friends, and the people around him: wealthy, homeless, scholars, students, priests, laity. This love was anchored in Christ as Pier Giorgio wanted others to experience Christ’s love through his friendship.”
He also frequently received the sacraments. “Pier Giorgio not only went to daily Mass, an exception at the time, but he also understood daily Mass is accompanied by frequent Confession; Pier Giorgio drew his strength from the Sacraments.”
He was “aware of the ‘perverse ways of the world’ of his times, as he wrote in his “Notes on Charity” addressing the Federation of Italian Catholic Universities. The response to the moral break down of society is to have Christ at the centre of our lives. We encounter in Pier Giorgio’s letters and his friendships his purity, the freshness of God’s love that he conveyed to others. When Pope Pius XI opened the Holy Year of Peace in 1925 – reaffirming Christ as the pillar peace in the world – the words of Pope Pius were echoed in the letters of Pier Giorgio. A century later, anticipating Pier Giorgio’s canonization in the Holy Year of 2025, as ‘pilgrims of hope’ with Pier Giorgio, we remain constant in our hope for a world where Christ reigns.”
Father Bellusci discusses the spirituality of Blessed Frassati in an interview with the Archdiocese of Singapore on YouTube.
According to the head of the Vatican's office for saints' causes, Blessed Frassati could be declared a saint during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.
Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, announced at Catholic Action’s national assembly in Sacrofano, Italy, April 26 that Frassati’s canonization is “on the horizon.”
“I would like to tell you that the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is now clearly on the horizon and is in sight for the coming Jubilee Year,” the cardinal said, according to Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference.
Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is beloved by many Catholic young people today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”
The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and third order Dominican known for his charitable outreach. At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick, as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.
Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was a struggling student who excelled in mountain climbing. He had complete faith in God and persevered through college, dedicating himself to helping the poor and supporting church social teaching. He is pictured in an undated photo. (OSV News file photo)
On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.
Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.
Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbour.”
To be canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church, a miracle attributed to Blessed Frassati’s intercession will need to be officially recognized in a decree signed by the pope. Pope Francis usually signs these types of decrees when he meets with Cardinal Semeraro.
Catholic News Agency with B.C. Catholic files