Man of the Eight Beatitudes

July 4th is the feast day of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (April 6, 1901 - July 4, 1925). He was born in Turin to a wealthy family, who owned a newspaper called La Stampa which is still in circulation today.

Whenever Frassati had money, he would make sure he gave it to those in need. He was dedicated to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. He was involved with Catholic youth and student groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Action. He was even a Third Order Dominican. In addition, he was fiercely anti-fascist and frequently joined demonstrations against it.

He often told his friends, "Charity isn't enough; we need social reform." He helped establish a newspaper called Momento, whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum.

Frassati died in 1925 of polio. At his funeral, Turin's elite and political figures came to offer their condolences as did many of his friends. They were surprised, however, to find Turin's streets lined with thousands of mourners. These were the poor who Frassati helped throughout his life. In fact, it was the poor who petitioned the Archbishop of Turin to begin the cause for his canonization. The process began in 1932 and he was beatified on May 20, 1990. At this beatification, Blessed Pope John Paul II called Frassati "Man of the Eight Beatitudes."