“To Others” and “To the Heights.” These words capture the essence of Pier Giorgio Frassati’s life. His hand was always extended toward others, toward those in need. His eyes were always lifted upward—to God—in a constant search for the divine. He found joy and renewal in the mountains, drawn to the peaks where he felt closest to the Creator.

Life in Turin, Family, and Education

“Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin in 1901 and died there in 1925. A short life—just 24 years—deeply tied to this city, to friendships, and to the places that marked his days,” explains Paolo Pellegrini, creator of the Exhibition “Verso l’Altro.”

Pier Giorgio was born into a wealthy family in Turin and lived in one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods. His father, Alfredo Frassati, was the owner and director of the newspaper “La Stampa”. He attended a Jesuit school and later one of the most prestigious high schools in Turin. He was very close to his sister Luciana who, after his death, would publish many writings about him, helping others to understand more deeply the “holiness of Pier Giorgio.”

Pellegrini notes:

He completed his schooling by enrolling at the university to study mining engineering. It was a deliberate choice—he wanted to prepare for a life dedicated to working with those he saw, and who were widely recognized at the time, as one of the most exploited social classes: miners, in Europe and across the world. His goal was to become an engineer who could work alongside these disadvantaged workers. 

Pier Giorgio’s was a simple life, rich in passions and anchored in values—above all, friendship. He was a wealthy young man, yet always ready to give to the poor. Cultured and educated, yet close to ordinary people and the working class. A young man full of enthusiasm, with the emotions and energy typical of youth. 

“True friendships were central to his life,” Pellegrini adds. “He had many, and he nurtured them with great care—bonds with boys and girls his own age.”

Faith, Service, and the Mountains

Piergiorgio’s spirituality stood out in his frequent participation in Eucharistic adoration, particularly at the Church of Santa Maria di Piazza, where he sometimes spent the night in prayer. Each occasion was a chance to unite with God, showing his ongoing quest for faith and inner peace. 

Pellegrini points out:

“The Church of Santa Maria di Piazza is one of the churches in the historic center of Turin and was one of the places Piergiorgio frequented during his youth, when he participated in the Perpetual Adoration groups that were held there. He often visited, especially during the night adoration sessions, making it one of the key stops on what is now known as the Frassatour. This is a tour around the city of Turin that highlights the places Piergiorgio frequented.”

Pier Giorgio Frassati was an active member of several associations, especially within the Catholic lay movement. He was committed to social development and charitable works, belonging to Catholic Action, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Dominican Third Order. His life was spent for others. 

But there was more to him than his lay apostolate—Pier Giorgio also had a great passion for the mountains. And one cannot speak of him without mentioning Pollone, a small village in northern Italy where the Frassati family had their summer residence.

“Another important place in this biography, which must not be forgotten, is Pollone,” Pellegrini highlights. “Pollone is a small village, the hometown of his parents, in the province of Biella, just a few kilometers from the Sanctuary of Oropa. It was a place very dear to him, where he spent holidays with his family and where he could also go to Oropa to pray and have these spiritual experiences.”

Pier Giorgio Frassati’s story is inseparable from his love of the mountains where he found a profound connection to the beauty of the Creator. 

Pellegrini says, “The mountains were, for him, a place of holidays, day trips, and friendship—especially friendships deepened by walking together, living together, and staying in mountain huts together. But they were also a space for the spiritual, for his relationship with God. The higher he climbed, the more he felt that closeness—almost physically.”

Death, Beatification, and Legacy

Pier Giorgio Frassati was just one exam away from the degree he had dreamed of when his life was cut short. On July 4, 1925, at only 24 years old, he died from a sudden case of polio—most likely contracted while helping a poor family in need. “The day of my death will be the most beautiful day of my life,” he had told a friend.  

When the day came, the streets filled with mourners. They were not there for the Frassati name, but for Pier Giorgio himself—for the generosity he had shown, and for the greatness of his heart and spirit. 

“Right after Pier Giorgio’s death, many testimonies revealed that he had not gone unnoticed—quite the opposite. People who had known him had already begun to sense something extraordinary about this young man,” explains Alessandro Maria Greco, Author of the book “Frassati Tour.”

In 1990, Pier Giorgio Frassati was beatified by Pope John Paul II.  

“This recognition was due in part to the encouragement of Pope John Paul II, who had learned about Pier Giorgio through an exhibition held in Krakow when he was Archbishop there,” Pellegrini recalls. 

For the canonization, the Church required the recognition of a miracle—which came in the case of a seminarian from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who was miraculously healed from a severe Achilles tendon injury. 

Carlo Tabellini of the Pier Giorgio Frassati Cultural Center in Turin asks, “Who was Pier Giorgio? Today the Church tells us he was a saint of God—and, I would say, a saint very much of the twentieth century, of our own era. As John Paul II expressed it, in our century Pier Giorgio Frassati embodied a credible Christianity—one that actively engages with the world, a faith like a lamp set high to give light to all.”

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Adapted by Jacob Stein