Pope Francis has confirmed that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati will soon be canonized.
During a meeting at the Vatican with volunteers from St. Peter’s Circle the Pope said, “I think of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati – who will soon be a saint – who used to go to the homes of the poor in Turin to bring help.”
Frassati joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society at 19 and the Third Order Dominicans at 21, dedicating his life to helping the poor and supporting Church social teaching. Despite his well-off background, Pope Francis said “he did not get lost in the ‘good life,’ because within him was the lifeblood of the Holy Spirit.”
Pope Francis explained that Frassati’s legacy teaches us the importance of passing down faith, and that older generations provide “much lived faith” while young people contribute “energy, creativity, and drive.”
Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, hinted at the canonization potentially occurring during the Holy Year 2025. At a recent assembly, he described Frassati as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God” and praised his dedication to charity and Church social teaching.
Frassati died at 24 in 1925.
Known as “the Man of the Eight Beatitudes,” Frassati was beatified by St. John Paul II in 1990.
Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
