An event strongly supported by Italian Catholic Action, just hours after Frassati's canonization. A journey of reflection and prayer to rediscover the power of a sanctity that continues to challenge the Church and the world. Thus, on Saturday, September 6th, the public conference was held at the Lumsa University in Rome. Inside life, inside history, which was followed in the evening by a prayer vigil in the Basilica of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, presided over by Claudio Giuliodori, general ecclesiastical assistant of Ac. The man of the eight beatitudes, as John Paul II defined it, still speaks to the men and women of our time: friendship, charity, joy. These themes are not only part of his biography, but also permeate our own lives, marked by conflict, loneliness, and inequality.
Friendship, charity, and joy. The way to avoid just getting by.
Roberto Falciola, vice-postulator of the cause of canonization, recalled how, for Frassati, friendship was not just a human bond, but a privileged forum for evangelization and mutual support. The somewhat irreverent company he founded, Tipi loschi, remains a concrete sign of how faith can foster sincere, lasting, and joyful bonds. In a time of fragile relationships and digital loneliness, his ability to build community is an urgent lesson.
Luca Liverani, journalist of occur, and Rosanna Tabasso, president of Sermig, reflected on the desire for peace that animated Frassati.
Tatiana Giannone, of Libera, and Irene Ioffredo, of the Dicastery for Human and Integral Development, reiterated how Frassati's thirst for justice remains highly relevant.
The Church needs this holiness: these words resounded repeatedly throughout the conference. Reaching out to the poor, sharing their time, resources, and energy, challenges the conscience of a laity that seeks to be the salt of the earth. The conference concluded with a reflection by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, who emphasized that virtues, if not lived with joy, are not authentic. A prayer and a public meeting, both attended by numerous people, served to prepare for the following day, the celebration in St. Peter's Square. to live and not just get by, as the young, now saint, Pier Giorgio always used to say.
*Inside life, inside history was published on Sign in the world insert of occur Tuesday September 9