Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s intercession on Monday, paving the way for his canonization as a saint during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of Youth next summer.
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.
Frassati’s canonization will occur during the Jubilee of Youth in Rome on Aug. 3, 2025.
The miracle
In a decree on Nov. 25, Pope Francis recognized the miraculous healing of a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles — who was recently ordained a priest in June 2023.
Monsignor Robert Sarno, a former official of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints who served as the archiepiscopal delegate in the diocesan process in Los Angeles that examined the healing, told CNA that the seminarian had damaged his Achilles tendon in a basketball accident while playing with other seminarians.
After the MRI showed significant damage to his Achilles tendon, his doctor recommended that he see an orthopedic surgeon.
“Being very upset about the whole thing, he started a novena to Pier Giorgio Frassati on Nov. 1,” Sarno explained.
Midway through the novena, “he was in the chapel crying during his novena and he felt this tremendous warmth in his ankle.”
“And then when he went to the orthopedic surgeon a week later, the orthopedic surgeon, after seeing the MRI and conducting physical investigations, said to him, ‘You must have someone in heaven who likes you'”
The seminarian was able to immediately resume playing the sports that he loved without any difficulties. The healing was verified by a diocesan inquiry and the examination of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints’ medical board, theologians, and the cardinals and bishops.
Sarno noted that it is fitting that a young man playing basketball received the healing given that Frassati was known for his love of sport and outdoor activities.
“To the heights” of holiness
Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
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.
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.
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 neighbor.”
Pope Francis praised Frassati for sharing the love of Jesus with the poor in a speech on June 24.
“I am reminded of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati — soon to be a saint — who in Turin used to go into the homes of the poor to bring help,” the pope said.
“Pier Giorgio was from a wealthy, upper-middle class family, but he did not grow up ‘wrapped in cotton wool,’ he did not lose himself in the ‘good life,’ because within him there was the lifeblood of the Holy Spirit, there was love for Jesus and for his brothers,” he added.
Other soon-to-be saints announced
In addition to Frassati, Pope Francis also recognized a miracle attributed to Blessed Maria Troncatti (1883-1969), an Italian religious sister from the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians who served as a missionary among indigenous peoples in Ecuador.
The pope also approved the martyrdoms of Vietnamese Servant of God Francis Xavier Tru’o’ng Bǚu Diệp (1897-1946) and Congolese Servant of God Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi (1981-2007), making possible their beatifications.
Father Francis Xavier was a Vietnamese priest who defended the rights of local citizens against plunder by armed gangs at the end of the Second World War. On March 12, 1946, he was taken prisoner by a group of militiamen together with others and locked up in a rice warehouse, where he was interrogated.
A few days later, his disfigured body was found in a ditch. Following his death, Christians began to visit his tomb, asking for his intercession and obtaining graces, according to the Vatican.
Floribert Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was a Congolese layman, lawyer, and member of the Saint Egidio Community. He worked as a commissioner for a customs office controlling food supplies entering the country, a role in which he opposed several attempted acts of corruption. For this, he was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in July 2007. The Vatican recognized his martyrdom in “odium fidei” because his killing was motivated by the fact that “he was a man of faith, animated by a strong sense of justice and a concrete love for his neighbor.”
In the decree, Pope Francis authorized the beatification of Venerable Juana de la Cruz (1481-1534), the abbess of the Convent of “Santa Maria della Croce” in Cubas de Madrid, without the usually required miracle due to the recognition of the longstanding “cult,” or devotion that has spread and continued for centuries.
The pope also recognized the heroic virtue of Croatian Bishop Josip Lang (1857-1924) who was known for his service to the poor and formation of seminarians.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
