By Giuseppe Notarstefano - On September 7, in St. Peter's Square, we were truly so many, coming from all over Italy and beyond. It was a day we had long awaited. All of Italian Catholic Action celebrated, in prayer and joy, Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was canonized together with Carlo Acutis by Pope Leo XIV. Pier Giorgio's canonization represents a significant moment for Catholic Action as a whole, and he is an example for generations of young and adult lay people committed to the Church and the world. For Catholic Action—of which he was a passionate member and eloquent witness—it is a moment of grace and profound gratitude. At the heart of his life, woven fully through experiences of service to the poor, fraternal bonds of friendship, and social and political commitment, lies a profound spirituality that connects and holds everything together, seeking a synthesis that always takes an evangelical, joyful, and passionate form.
Pier Giorgio, a name dear to us all
When we think of Frassati, we often think of "our" Pier Giorgio, not only because Italian Catholic Action played a key role in the canonization process. It's a cherished name, often found in Catholic Action families, just as various parish and diocesan "circles" and associations are dedicated to him, as are works and signs that demonstrate a deep, concrete, and vital connection, every day. For many of us, that "our" also represents a bond of ideas and sentiments in which friendship, solidarity, joy, perseverance in faith, contemplation and prayer, youthful freshness, and even political commitment find a home and the courage to look forward.
A lay person like the one presented to us by the Second Vatican Council
Pier Giorgio Frassati is one of us, then as now, because he was a layman who knew how to live his exuberant youthful daily life by trying to change at least that "piece" of the world that had been entrusted to him, in a concrete way, consistent with the discourse on the Beatitudes of Matthew.
A type of layperson, as Cardinal Marcello Semeraro explains well in the preface to the beautiful book by Emanuela Gitto, Michele Martinelli, and Lorenzo Zardi, Di Santa ragione. Con Frassati in cammino verso l'Alto (Ave, 2025), like "the one presented to us by the Second Vatican Council, which today, unfortunately, seems to me to be deliberately ignored, rather than forgotten. How many times has Pope Francis lamented the clericalization of the laity, and yet I have the impression that we are often going precisely in that direction. Vatican II, however, says: 'By their vocation, it is proper to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and ordering them according to God. They live in the world, that is, involved in all the various duties and tasks of the world and in the ordinary conditions of family and social life, of which their existence is, as it were, woven. There they are called by God […]' ( Lumen gentium , 31)."
Quoting Lazzati…
And again: I cannot, then, fail to mention Giuseppe Lazzati, who looked upon Pier Giorgio Frassati in this very light, remembering him on April 5, 1975, fifty years after his death. He lived—so he said—in a difficult period for the Church, "also because of the maturation of a laity driven by an authentic love of the Church, but divided in the precise definition of its own specific role." For Frassati, this role—as can be deduced from his life plans—was none other than contributing, almost from within, like a leaven, to the sanctification of the world, manifesting Christ to others principally through the witness of his life and the radiance of his faith, hope, and charity.
We feel Frassati is ours
This is why we feel Pier Giorgio is "ours." Because we like him and he excites us. Because he embodies secularism as we would like it to be. Simply because he lived his home, the place where he lived, his friends, his neighborhood, his studies, and then, always leaning further, his beloved mountains, his poor, with his gaze always turned upward. And, at the same time and with the same yardstick, equally turned toward the slums of history, where we encounter the stories of those we don't know, those without hope, those marginalized.
Yes, Pier Giorgio is all of this. A passionate young man who knew how to rejoice, love, and be interested in worldly things. Always with a smile. Frassati's life shows us how Christian love invites us to hold together. First, by continually seeking a synthesis, concrete and existential, immersed and trusting in the Word and the Eucharist that generate the authentic life of the believer, but also by working tirelessly in and for the community, practicing a style of friendship always striving for fraternity.
A precious heritage for the whole Church
With his canonization, Pier Giorgio's testimony becomes even more of a precious legacy for the entire Church; it must be preserved and protected from any attempt to trivialize and exploit it. His intercession encourages us to continue in the humble spirit of covenant, in synodal commitment, and in missionary conversion, walking "toward the Highest" along the paths of ecclesial communion, fraternity, and social friendship.
This powerful expression, which has made him famous beyond our borders—and which we in Catholic Action know very well through our summer camps, which often take place in the "highlands" and in places where it is easier to be in tune with the wonders of creation—is a cry of friendship towards a wounded and disoriented humanity, and of help and hope addressed to a God who never ceases to look with compassion on our most fragile brothers and sisters.
Since September 7, we have continued to feel that in Pier Giorgio we have a companion on the journey, one who encourages us to navigate with courage and passion this time torn by violence and division. We rediscover in his passionate and humble style the care for fragility and the good that is always reborn in a supportive embrace, the path of friendship and deep and authentic bonds, the path of brotherhood with all and of service to the community and the primacy of the Gospel.
Thank you, Pier Giorgio, for this miracle. We all needed it.
* Thank you Pier Giorgio, your legacy is a precious gift was published in Segno nel mondo insert of Avvenire on Tuesday 9 September