Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin on April 6, 1901. He is the son of Alfredo, founder and director of the daily newspaper «La Stampa», and Adelaide Ametis, a woman with a strong character and an artistic temperament. He has a sister, Luciana, a year younger, an inseparable playmate and study companion. An upper-middle-class family, of liberal stamp, with an agnostic father and a mother who was a formal believer, from whom Pier Giorgio receives the rudiments of a faith that instead matures in him in an unexpected way and becomes the foundation of life.
He attended the public school "Massimo d'Azeglio" and then, after failing Latin, the "Istituto Sociale" of the Jesuits: here he began to take Communion every day, something he would do for the rest of his life, and he entered the Conferences of San Vincenzo. In 1918 he enrolled at the Polytechnic of Turin: he wanted to become a mining engineer "to be able to serve Christ even more among the miners". He joined the "Cesare Balbo" circle of the FUCI, which became a privileged place of Christian formation and friendship. He wore the badge of the Catholic Youth in his lapel, of which he made the motto his own: Prayer, Action, Sacrifice.
His deep faith is nourished by daily Eucharist, prayer, frequent confession. He is in love with the Word of God: in his time it is reserved for consecrated people, but he procures the texts to read them personally. Trusting totally in the words of Jesus, he sees the presence of God in his neighbor, he considers himself "poor like all the poor": he is generous with words and gestures of fraternal charity, both alone and in the organized form of the Conferences of Saint Vincent, on the streets of Turin, in the poor neighborhoods, at Cottolengo. In the strong tensions of the first post-war period he is involved in a social apostolate, which sees him present even in the factories. Convinced of the need for social reforms, in 1920 he joins the Italian Popular Party which he sees as a means to create a more just society.
In 1920 his father was appointed ambassador to Germany. In Berlin Pier Giorgio visited the poorest neighborhoods and came into contact with the circles of young German Catholic students and workers. In September 1921 in Rome, during a large demonstration of the Catholic Youth, he defended the flag of his circle from the assault of the royal guards and was arrested.
The writings of Saint Catherine of Siena and the fiery speeches of Savonarola led him to enter the Third Dominican Order in 1922 with the name of "fra Girolamo". He was a member of numerous ecclesiastical associations, in which he poured out the many interests of his Christian life. Son of the director of "La Stampa", he worked as a propagandist for Catholic newspapers.
Since before Mussolini's rise to power, he has been openly against fascism. He is deeply disappointed by the entry of part of the Popular Party into the fascist government, towards which he has very harsh words.
He is passionate about mountains and sports, a member of the CAI and Giovane Montagna. He often organizes trips with friends (the «Shady Guys») that become occasions for apostolate. He goes to the theater, the opera, visits museums, loves painting and music, knows entire passages of Dante by heart.
His capacity for attention to the needs of others is limitless, especially the poor and the sick, to whom he gives time, energy, and life itself. Two months before graduation, his exuberant youth was cut short by fulminant polio, probably contracted while assisting the poor. He died in Turin on July 4, 1925. Two days later, the overflowing crowd at the funeral began to reveal to his family and the world the greatness of his Christian testimony. Thus began the long journey that would lead to his beatification on May 20, 1990 by Saint John Paul II.