Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pier Giorgio Frassati is a young man who devoted his life to social action, charity, prayer and community in his home town of Turin, Italy. He gave up his spare time to look after the poor, sick and needy. His spiritual devotion was evident in all areas of his life, deciding to become a mining engineer so that he could “serve Christ better among the miners." His selflessness saw him die at the age of 24 from poliomyelitis, an infection which he had caught from those he tended too. Turin’s poor made several pleas for canonisation, and he was eventually beatified by Pope John Paul II in mid-1990.

Pier Giorgio Frassati stands out us at Million Minutes as throughout his short life, he always put the needs of others before himself, this is evident until the very end of his life. He never seeked reward or recognition for his work, and his family only knew about his impact when at his funeral the streets were lined with mourners many of whom had benefited from his kindness. What we admire most about Pier is that he exemplifies what it means to be a good person in society and in his wider community. As well as caring for the sick, he enjoyed a relatively normal life filling his time with his friends, family, and his many hobbies notably mountaineering, which typically involved prayer, liturgies, and conversations about faith. After his final climb he wrote a simple note on a photograph: "Verso L'Alto", which means "to the heights." This phrase has since come to encapsulate his philosophy of mountaineering and his Catholic outlook on life and adventure.

To nominate a young person for a Pier Giorgio Frassati Award today please nominate them here. NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925, “was a young man filled with a joy that swept everything along with it, a joy that also overcame many difficulties in his life”. Pier Giorgio said that he wanted to return the love of Jesus that he received in Holy Communion by visiting and helping the poor.” - Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, 60.

If you are interested in nominating your young person or group for our national Celebrating Young People Awards, please explore our page here for more information about the next ceremony.

To consider ways to celebrate your young people all year round explore our page here.