Let me introduce you to the man who showed me and many others what it means to truly live. This man is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Unfortunately, I did not live in Turin, Italy in the early 1920's so I do not personally know him, but it feels as though I do. Even now, he draws people in, not because of how miraculous his deeds were, but rather because even the most ordinary person (me) can relate to his life.
Pier Giorgio was a passionate and adventurous man with a deep faith and a great love of the poor. Born in 1901 to an Italian aristocratic family, he lived a short yet meaningful life, never wasting a drop of it. Pier Giorgio Frassati did not come from a very religious family. His father was agnostic and his mother was only a nominal Christian, yet he came to love the Catholic liturgy at a very young age.
He also always had a great devotion to the poor.
Though his family was well off, his father only gave Pier Giorgio and his sister a small sum of money for spending because of his frugality. The little bit that Pier Giorgio did receive went straight to the less fortunate of Turin. For example, his father always gave him money to ride first class on the train, but each time he chose to give up his ticket and sit third class. Once, his friend asked him why he chose to ride third class even though he had the money for first class. To which he responded, “Because there’s no fourth class.” Pier Giorgio's family had no idea about his secret life of ministering to the poor. His mother often chastised him for being late to dinner, but little did she know, his tardiness occurred because he gave up his bus ticket to someone who really needed it and had to run home.
From what's been said thus far, Pier Giorgio Frassati may seem like a holy and virtuous man but not necessarily a relatable one. After all, not many people could say that they spent hours upon hours in adoration as a young child or that they would be willing to give a complete stranger their own coat on a cold snowy day. But, even still, there are many other details about Pier Giorgio's life that I think we can all relate to.
First of all, he was never the best student growing up. His love for being apart of a lot of activities kept him from being a studious school boy. It wasn't until he got a little older that he began taking his studies more seriously. He did, however, love sports and outdoor activities. Some of his favorite activities were skiing, horseback riding, fencing, but most of all, mountain climbing. Pier Giorgio felt that physically climbing mountains was a way of spiritually moving closer to God. From this idea emerged the famous phrase that he coined, Verso L'alto or "to the heights."
Blessed Pier was always the life of the party and loved having a good time, but he also knew how to give all the glory to God at the same time. There were many instances in which he and his friends would be out playing billiards in the pool hall while smoking pipes. He frequently made bets with his friends containing the terms that if he won a game of billiards then his friends of little faith would have to accompany him to morning Mass or Eucharistic adoration. He usually won. Pier Giorgio also liked organizing hikes with his friends. But, never passing up the opportunity to evangelize, he always made sure a priest was secured to come along and say Mass on the mountain.
And lets not forget about the fact that he also had a great sense of humor which he loved to express through pranking. Yes, even Blessed Pier Giorgio was a great prankster. One time his friend, who had been acting quite lazy, awoke to find a donkey sitting on top of his bed. Along with it was a sign saying that he was being a "jackass" for not keeping up with his studies.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati brings us in because of his relatability, but directs us towards God because of his great virtue. If there's one thing about his life that truly inspires me, it would have to be the way in which he died. That sounds really morbid, I know, but his death shows us what redemptive suffering, self-giving love, and blind obedience truly mean. You see, he contracted polio at the age of 24 from one of the poor that he ministered to in his town. It would only take three days before the disease killed him.
During these three days though, he had to endure an intense amount of pain. At the very same time his grandmother was dying and the state of her health was consuming his family's thoughts and cares. So as not to distract from his grandmother or cause his family too much grief, he kept his suffering silent. They did not realize the seriousness of his illness until it was too late. Even in this great moment of suffering he was still giving of himself to help the poor. As his pain was worsening, Pier Giorgio asked one of his friends to take his medicine to a sick poor man that he had been taking care of before he got sick.
On the day of Blessed Pier Giorgio's funeral the streets were overflowing with all the people he had touched in his lifetime. His family was completely shocked by the incredible turnout because they were unaware of his ministry to the poor of Turin. They had no idea that their son had affected the lives of so many people. Also, many of the people who attended were surprised to learn that the man who served them so selflessly for seven years was actually the heir to the rich and influential Frassati family.
