One hundred years after his untimely death in 1925, Pier Giorgio Frassati—a passionate mountaineer and staunch opponent of fascism—will be canonized on September 7, 2025. Here’s a look back at the brief life of this young Italian who died at the age of 24, as well as the long canonical process (92 years) that was necessary for him to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Unlike Carlo Acutis, with whom he will be canonized, his cause of canonization took nearly a century. These concrete dates help us situate him in history.
1Life of Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)
Childhood
April 6, 1901: Pier Giorgio Frassati is born in Turin. He is the son of Alfredo Frassati, founder of the newspaper La Stampa, and Adelaide Ametis, a painter.
September 5, 1901: Pier Giorgio is baptized in Pollone, a small town in Piedmont and the Frassati family stronghold.
1902: Birth of Luciana, Pier Giorgio's little sister.
1911: Pier Giorgio Frassati receives First Communion. He starts to attend the Massimo d'Azeglio Royal School in Turin that same year.
1913: Pier Giorgio starts to attend the Jesuit Social Institute, where he deepens his faith. His father, Alfredo, is appointed senator.
1914: Pier Giorgio Frassati joins the Apostleship of Prayer, a Jesuit initiative.
1915: Pier Giorgio receives the sacrament of Confirmation in Turin.
1917: Pier Giorgio obtains a diploma as a student farmer.
1918: He enrolls at the Polytechnic School of Engineering in Turin, in the mining department.
Charitable and political involvement
1919: He joins the Cesare Balbo Catholic University Circle, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, and the Milites Mariae.
1920: His father is appointed ambassador to Berlin. Pier Giorgio joins the Italian Popular Party (Christian Democrat) founded by Father Luigi Sturzo. Increasingly involved in political struggles, he is arrested during a raid on the Cesare Balbo Catholic University Circle.
1922: Pier Giorgio joined the Dominican Third Order and took the name Brother Jerome in homage to Savonarola. His father resigned from his post as ambassador in protest against the fascists' rise to power.
1923: Pier Giorgio left the Cesare Balbo Catholic University Circle, which he criticized for not taking a stand against fascism.
1924: Fascists attempt to break into the Frassati home, but Pier Giorgio drives them away.
May 18, 1924: Pier Giorgio Frassati founds the “Company of Shady Characters,” a group of friends who consider themselves eccentric.
Courtesy of The Dominican Friars – England &; Scotland
Sickness and death
June 30, 1925: Pier Giorgio Frassati's health suddenly deteriorates. Gradually becoming paralyzed, he is diagnosed with polio.
July 4, 1925: Pier Giorgio Frassati dies of a rapidly progressing viral meningitis caused by polio. He is buried in the family tomb in Pollone.
2A long road to sainthood (1932-2025)
Opening of the cause
1932: Seven years after Pier Giorgio Frassati's death, the Archdiocese of Turin decides to launch a canonical process to investigate his reputation for holiness.
1933: Domenico Sellan, an Italian suffering from Pott's disease—bone tuberculosis—suddenly recovers after invoking the intercession of Pier Giorgio Frassati. This would be the first miracle officially recognized by the Catholic Church in this cause, in 1989.
1935: Opening of the acts of the canonization process of Pier Giorgio Frassati before the Congregation of Rites (predecessor of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints). The postulation of the cause is entrusted to the Salesians.
A setback
1941: The first ordinary congregation concerning the cause of Pier Giorgio Frassati is held in Rome and results in a request for further investigation. At issue is the existence of a possible “flirtation” between the Turin native and a young woman he was in love with, Laura Hidalgo.
1945: Pius XII, after once again postponing the cause, decided not to pursue the trial, and the cause was therefore interrupted.
June 20, 1977: With the agreement of Paul VI, Pier Giorgio's cause for beatification was reopened, thirty-two years after its interruption. This was the result of the important work of Luciana Frassati, who was convinced of her brother's holiness. The cause was entrusted to Italian Catholic Action and to the Jesuit postulator Paolo Molinari.
“Venerable”
October 23, 1987: Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic virtues of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who thus became “venerable.”
December 21, 1989: Pope John Paul II approved the publication of a decree by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints recognizing a first miracle attributed to the intercession of Pier Giorgio Frassati (the healing of Domenico Sellan in 1933), which opened the door to his beatification.
September 1990: Pier Giorgio Frassati's remains are transferred to Turin Cathedral.
“Blessed”
May 20, 1990: John Paul II celebrates the beatification of Pier Giorgio Frassati in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
July 15-20, 2008: Pier Giorgio Frassati's remains are temporarily transferred to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day.
2016: Pier Giorgio Frassati's remains are temporarily transferred to Krakow for World Youth Day.
2017: Father Juan Manuel Gutierrez, a priest from the Diocese of Los Angeles (United States), is suddenly healed of a serious Achilles tendon injury that prevented him from walking normally, after praying to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Canonization
April 26, 2024: Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the dicastery for the Causes of Saints, announces that Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonized during the 2025 Jubilee.
November 20, 2024: Pope Francis confirms that Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonized during the Youth Jubilee in 2025.
November 25, 2024: Pope Francis approves the publication of the decree of the dicastery for the Causes of Saints recognizing the second miracle attributed to Pier Giorgio Frassati (that of Juan Manuel Gutierrez), paving the way for his upcoming canonization.
June 13, 2025: During his first consistory, Leo XIV decides to postpone the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati, initially scheduled for August 3 during the Jubilee of Youth, to September 7, 2025. He plans to canonize him at the same time as Carlo Acutis.
July 25-August 4, 2025: Pier Giorgio Frassati's remains are temporarily transferred to the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome for the Youth Jubilee.
September 7, 2025: Canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis
