A young man who continues to speak to the hearts of his peers. A witness capable of uniting interiority and commitment, faith and daily life. It will be dedicated to the figure of Pier Giorgio Frassati, canonized last September 7 in St. Peter’s Square by Leo XIV, the evening planned Tuesday 25 November, at 6.30 pm, at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan: an event designed for young students, educators and all those who wish to rediscover the current strength of lay holiness.
The meeting, entitled “San Pier Giorgio Frassati: prayer, action and sacrifice”is promoted by‘Ambrosiana Catholic Action, by the FUCI “Giuseppe Lazzati” Group of the Catholic University and by the diocesan Youth Ministry. An educational alliance born from the desire to offer children a figure capable of speaking their language: that of concreteness, service, simple and contagious joy.
A figure who continues to inspire
Born in Turin in 1901, an engineering student, passionate about the mountains and involved in ecclesial life, Pier Giorgio Frassati lived his short life with an enthusiasm that still surprises us today. His union of prayer, charitable action and personal sacrifice was not abstract idealism, but a way of being in the world: helping the poor, supporting friends, engaging in the Catholic associations of his time.
It is this harmonious intertwining of spiritual life and concrete responsibility that the November 25th event wants to propose to the new generations: not out of nostalgia, but to show how some paths to holiness are profoundly current.
The evening’s speeches
The meeting will take place in room G.126 of the University (largo Gemelli, 1) and will see the participation of three significant figures. The first is that of don Juan Manuel Gutiérrez, Mexican priest who will talk about his personal bond with Pier Giorgio. His testimony aims to be a bridge between continents and generations, showing how Frassati’s example has crossed geographical and cultural boundaries. Don will speak next Roberto Falciola, vice-postulator of the cause of canonization, which will offer an in-depth look at the Blessed’s spirituality and ecclesial path. His presence reminds us that Frassati’s legacy does not only belong to the past, but continues to grow in the life of the Church.
The Dominican friar will close the dialogue Alberto Casella, professor of Catholic Theology, General Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Lombardy region of the Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association, called to place Pier Giorgio’s experience within the broader reflection on lay sanctity: a challenge that concerns above all young people, called to live the faith in the frenetic pace of the present.
A proposal for today’s young people
In a time marked by uncertainties and fragility, Pier Giorgio’s life appears as a clear invitation: not to close yourself off, not to let yourself be paralyzed by tiredness or cynicism, but to make use of your talents for the good of others. His joy was concrete, not naive; his creed, lived with rigor, was never disconnected from everyday life. The event in Cattolica thus presents itself as an opportunity to rediscover a higher gaze, capable of combining interiority and service. A time to listen and meet, an opportunity for young people to stop, be silent, return to the essentials.
Looking “upwards”
“Upwards”: this is how Pier Giorgio once wrote on a photograph taken during an excursion. A simple phrase, which still today summarizes the direction of his life. Not an invitation to escape, but to a daily fidelity that can keep heaven and earth together. The evening of November 25th aims to restore precisely this gaze: an embodied, joyful, strong faith. An accessible holiness, also made up of small but decisive steps. And a young man, Pier Giorgio, who continues to be a traveling companion for those who want to build their life on the rock.
