The Popes in Pier Giorgio's Life

During Pier Giorgio's short life there were four popes.

The first, Pope Leo XIII, was elected in 1878 and was pope at the time of Pier Giorgio's birth, in 1901. 

His encyclical rerum novarum, published in 1891, had a profound effect on Pier Giorgio. It was the first of the great social encyclicals to address the rights and duties of capital and labor and to recognize the human dignity of the worker. Blessed Pier Giorgio's efforts to support the working class are well documented. Even his choice of career as a mining engineer stemmed from a desire to work among and serve the poorest.

When Pier Giorgio was just two years old, he took office Pope Saint Pius X . One of the changes made during his pontificate was very significant for Pier Giorgio. Pius X advised everyone to receive Holy Communion every day, if possible, and recommended that children make their First Communion not long after they reached the age of reason (about seven years old). Until then, it had been customary to wait until Confirmation, around the age of twelve or older. Receiving the Eucharist every day became part of Pier Giorgio's sacramental life from an early age.

Pope Benedict XV succeeded Pius X in 1914. He also had a special influence on Pier Giorgio. In 1922, Pier Giorgio organized a lottery to raise funds for his "Cesare Balbo" club. The Pope donated an object to the lottery, which Pier Giorgio ended up winning. He wrote about it in a letter to his mother and sister on February 21 of that year: "I have had the immense fortune of winning the gift of His Holiness Benedict XV..." The gift was an image of the "Madonna della Seggiola" in a case with opening doors, and the Pope had sent it to the lottery a few days before his death in January. Pier Giorgio jealously guarded it throughout his life, and when he received his last Communion, he wanted the image near him on the makeshift altar in his bedroom in Turin. Today it can be seen in his bedroom, which is now in the family villa in Pollone. 

In 1922 he took office Pope Pius XI, which gave a great boost to Catholic Action, of which Pier Giorgio was a convinced and committed member. In his letters he often cited the efforts of Pope Pius XI to promote peace.

Each of the four popes who accompanied Pier Giorgio's life played a role in his spiritual formation. In turn, Pier Giorgio had a great love for the pope. In April 1922, he wrote to his friend Mario Bergonzi, who lived in Rome: «Dear Mario, I would like to be in your place to see the Holy Father every now and then, you know how much I love the Pope, I would like to do something for him but since I can't I pray every day, so that Jesus gives him many consolations and blessings. Long live the Pope, long live. Pier Giorgio Frassati».