Have you ever wondered what the deal is with that picture off on the right of the blog?
I bet it’s there now, taunting you in its perplexity: Who is that? What is he doing? Why are there scribbled words in another language? And what the heck does it have to do with this blog anyway? Well, today’s your lucky day my friends – prepare to take one more step on your journey to the Truth as you discover all this and more.
It is my sincere pleasure to introduce to you my good friend, Pier Giorgio Frassati. (Or “Hottie Frassati,” as he’s known in some circles; I mean, look at this guy…)
It is my sincere pleasure to introduce to you my good friend, Pier Giorgio Frassati. (Or “Hottie Frassati,” as he’s known in some circles; I mean, look at this guy…)
Our relationship is a bit different than with most of my other friends. I’ve never shaken his hand or looked him in the eye. He died over half a century before I was born. And we probably couldn’t have said much more than “hello” to one another in the same language.
Yet, I find myself continuing to grow closer to this man is many ways. And more importantly, through him growing closer to the person of Jesus.
Pier Giorgio Frassati is a Blessed on the road to Sainthood, and is the ideal model for young Catholics today – or, to be more catholic, truly for any young person today. His life was one that is utterly relatable for those around the college stage of life. He spent his time leading a rowdy band of friends, pulling pranks, intensely enjoying sports and the great outdoors, and even complaining about school (which to his credit, is quite hard not to do when you’re studying to be an engineer).
And yet, in the midst of his ordinary, everyday life, Pier Giorgio was on fire for Christ and his Gospel – and it showed. Son of an extremely wealthy and well known family in Turin, Italy, he spent most of his days quietly giving away his fortune to the poor in his midst. He would spend hours in Eucharistic Adoration (often alongside some friends who were there because they had lost pool hall bets to him), and would be so focused that he once didn’t even notice hot wax dripping on to him from a candle as he knelt in prayer.
He would lead friends on weekend hiking trips, but only if he could secure a priest who would come with them to celebrate mass wherever they would happen to find themselves in the mountains.
I think the last line on the back cover of Maria Di Lorenzo’s biography puts it best when it describes him as “a man who succeeded in wrestling holiness from everyday life.”
Yet, I find myself continuing to grow closer to this man is many ways. And more importantly, through him growing closer to the person of Jesus.
Pier Giorgio Frassati is a Blessed on the road to Sainthood, and is the ideal model for young Catholics today – or, to be more catholic, truly for any young person today. His life was one that is utterly relatable for those around the college stage of life. He spent his time leading a rowdy band of friends, pulling pranks, intensely enjoying sports and the great outdoors, and even complaining about school (which to his credit, is quite hard not to do when you’re studying to be an engineer).
And yet, in the midst of his ordinary, everyday life, Pier Giorgio was on fire for Christ and his Gospel – and it showed. Son of an extremely wealthy and well known family in Turin, Italy, he spent most of his days quietly giving away his fortune to the poor in his midst. He would spend hours in Eucharistic Adoration (often alongside some friends who were there because they had lost pool hall bets to him), and would be so focused that he once didn’t even notice hot wax dripping on to him from a candle as he knelt in prayer.
He would lead friends on weekend hiking trips, but only if he could secure a priest who would come with them to celebrate mass wherever they would happen to find themselves in the mountains.
I think the last line on the back cover of Maria Di Lorenzo’s biography puts it best when it describes him as “a man who succeeded in wrestling holiness from everyday life.”
What’s more, he did it excellently. The life of Pier Giorgio serves as a clarion call for all of us to no longer meander in the mazes of mediocrity, but rather to ascend to the heights of greatness. And to do so for, with, and through Christ Jesus. On the permanent photo up at the right at the top of the blog, Pier Giorgio wrote the words “Verso l’alto!” – to the top! The climb pictured proved to be his last, as his life ended short a month later, at the age of 24, after contracting polio from one of the many poor he cared for. Thus, the short phrase has become something of a motto to his memory, inspiring us to be the best version of ourselves in all pursuits, as we strive towards the ultimate goal of heaven. Here is a man who lived life to the full.
(As an aside, Pope John Paul II – who incidentally would have celebrated a mountain mass for Pier Giorgio in a heartbeat – inspires us with another non-English exhortation: “Duc in altum” – put out into the deep. You have altitude options, my friends; just seek Him somewhere….)
Bl. Pier Giorgio is one of the patrons of our group (along with St. Paul), and serves as a model and a help as we strive to live out our Catholic faith in our everyday college lives. He has become the namesake for the Frassati Catholic Speaker Series that we have instituted to bring Catholic speakers on to campus, as well as for the less-than-official Pier Giorgio Hiking and Climbing clubs, which try to respectively frequent Red River Gorge and the UC rock wall as often as possible in his spirit.
(As an aside, Pope John Paul II – who incidentally would have celebrated a mountain mass for Pier Giorgio in a heartbeat – inspires us with another non-English exhortation: “Duc in altum” – put out into the deep. You have altitude options, my friends; just seek Him somewhere….)
Bl. Pier Giorgio is one of the patrons of our group (along with St. Paul), and serves as a model and a help as we strive to live out our Catholic faith in our everyday college lives. He has become the namesake for the Frassati Catholic Speaker Series that we have instituted to bring Catholic speakers on to campus, as well as for the less-than-official Pier Giorgio Hiking and Climbing clubs, which try to respectively frequent Red River Gorge and the UC rock wall as often as possible in his spirit.
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I encourage you to get to know this “man of the 8 beatitudes” better, and to join us in our pursuit of following his example and asking for his intercession as we pray for the courage to be great, as he was.
Verso l’alto, my friends!
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,
– Pray for us.
Written By:
Matt Gangidine
Verso l’alto, my friends!
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,
– Pray for us.
Written By:
Matt Gangidine
