Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a man to be emulated. He was devout but not dainty, prayerful but not pietistic and charitable but committed to the truth. He was also an outdoorsman, prankster, brother, son, friend, and, most importantly, an exemplary model of a Catholic man in the world.
The son of an agnostic father prominent in Italian political and journalistic circles, Pier Giorgio was a young man of an intense spirituality that he was unafraid to share with others. He wanted them to share in his joy. However, the charitable actions which were inspired by his faith, he was somewhat reticent to share with others. His family was surprised when, at his funeral, the streets were lined with a “multitude of mourners” unknown to them. Those impoverished mourners, many of whom he had served in his works of charity, were likewise “surprised to learn that the saintly young man they knew was the heir of the Frassati family.”
Pier Giorgio was and remains an attractive figure precisely because he seemed to get it, “it” being just how to live the life of a saint while in the world. Nourished by regular reception of the Sacraments, devotion to Mary and Eucharistic adoration, this man accomplished more in his life than many of us will in lives three times as long. He was active politically, and, though he carried out the corporal works of mercy in a fashion not often seen today, he also knew that, as a Catholic, he had an obligation to work for social justice. Though the term is often considered a pejorative among many self-styled “conservatives,” Pier Giorgio knew better. Catholic social teaching as found in many of the encyclicals lays out basic principles; it is the task of laymen and women, expert in their field, to strive to implement them.
Pier Giorgio is also a Catholic man to admire because he was unafraid to fight, even physically, in defense of his ideals and his friends. “Often he was involved in fights with anticlerical reds first and later with fascists.” That he went toe-to-toe with both extreme “leftists” as well as “rightists” clues us in to a pertinent fact. A truly Catholic sensibility doesn’t fit neatly into either of the simplistic categories denoted by the terms “liberal” or “conservative” as they are used today. Pier Giorgio knew that. How did he know that? He knew the Faith. How did he know the Faith? He studied it. All Catholics should do the same.
Pier Giorgio was at the same time a man of faith, culture and action. He was inspired by the letters of St. Paul, the sermons of Savonarola and the writings of St. Catherine of Siena. He enjoyed theatre, art, music and could “quote whole chunks of the poet Dante.” And he loved being outside in God’s creation, particularly among the peaks of the Italian Alps.
Perhaps his death is most inspiring, though that is saying something given the quality of his life. But really the two cannot be separated. His way of life led to his early death at the age of 24, for it is thought that he contracted poliomyelitis from the poor sick that he attended. “His last preoccupation was for the poor. On the eve of his death, with a paralyzed hand, he scribbled a message for a friend remembering the injections for Converso,” one of the poor he attended.
Pier Giorgio’s life and death are examples for all Catholics, but Catholic men in particular, and young Catholic men most especially. But perhaps in some way he has special significance for Americans. The day of his death was July 4, 1925. You might even say that he was “born on the Fourth of July,” born to eternal life, that is. Ecce Homo Catolico, indeed. Behold the Catholic man!
Blessed Pier Giorgio. Pray for us.
(Given the recent death of our beloved Pope John Paul the Great, one can’t help but draw parallels between Blessed Pier Giorgio and the man who introduced him to the world as a model for Catholic youth. With their shared love of the outdoors, their vigorous orthodoxy, their transcendence of facile political categorization, their personal magnetism and charisma, and their devotion to Mary and Eucharistic Adoration, the two brothers in Christ, serve as exemplars for Catholic men. May we imitate them who so marvelously imitated Christ.)
Quotations courtesy of Associazione Pier Giorgio Frassati, based in Rome.
A version of this article appeared in the inaugural issue of Catholic Men’s Quarterly, a 32-page magazine featuring feisty apologetics, humor, travel, sports military history and much, much more. Visit the website for more information.
John Moorehouse is the editor of Catholic Men’s Quarterly. He can be reached at cmq@houseonthemoor.com.
