Celebrate the Patron of Young Adults!

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

On July 4th, not only do we celebrate Independence Day in the United States, we also honor the feast day of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925), Patron of Young Adults.

Blessed Pier Giorgio is an incredible role model for all men and women in their late teens, twenties, and thirties. In his late teens and early twenties, Pier Giorgio was active in the Church, regularly attending Mass and other Catholic activities and festivals, but was also very active in charity and service to the poor, outcast, sick, dying, and struggling people of the community. Born to a rich family, he gave his money to those in need whenever he saw others suffering.

In addition to his life of prayer, ethical fortitude, and social justice, Pier Giorgio was also a very popular young adult. He was a skilled athlete, mountain climber, skier, and sportsman. He spent time with his friends, and because of his great sense of humor (and habit of practical jokes), he was dubbed with the nickname "The Holy Terror."

Pier Giorgio radiated joy and compassion wherever he went. He was a model young adult Catholic, someone young people today can look up to in their everyday lives.

Sadly, on July 4th, 1925, he died from a disease he contracted while serving the poor the week before. In 1990, after years of devotion and affection for this young adult hero (and after reports of miracles in his name), Pope John Paul II beatified him and gave him a new nickname: "The Man of the Beatitudes" as he embodied all the goodness that Jesus declared on the Sermon on the Mount.

As we prepare for Theology-on-Tap in the Diocese of Joliet and as we celebrate this wonderful feast day, let us pray with Pier Giorgio to God that young adults in the Chicagoland area might come to know Christ through this special series of talks, conversations, and networking.