Head of FrassatiUSA: St Pier Giorgio shows laity ‘how to be in the world but not of it’

Through his short but extraordinary life, Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati shows the faithful what holiness looks like in the midst of difficulties, the founder and executive director of FrassatiUSA told CatholicVote in an exclusive interview this week. 

“Pier Giorgio lived in very challenging times — the first world war, a deadly virus, the rise of fascism, pervasive anti-clericalism, discord in his homelife,” Christine Wohar said in a Sept. 3 email interview. “He made a decision each day to live as a Catholic man no matter the consequences. He models for us, particularly the laity, how to be in the world but not be of it.”

FrassatiUSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the spirituality of St. Pier Giorgio, especially through “Frassati Groups.” These groups help young adults come together to grow together in fellowship and charity.

Wohar, the author of Finding Frassati and Following His Path to Holiness, said that Pope Saint John Paul II also saw St. Pier Giorgio as a particularly strong witness to the universal call to holiness. In the beatification Mass for St. Pier Giorgio, he said that the young man “testifies that holiness is possible for everyone.”

“The beauty of Pier Giorgio's path to holiness is that it is one we can all follow,” Wohar said. “He simply lived out the fundamentals of the faith on a daily basis.”

St. Pier Giorgio was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, and died in 1925. Despite only living to the age of 24, his devotion to charity was widely known in his hometown. The poor of Turin insisted that the Church investigate whether he might be declared a saint, and seven years after St. Pier Giorgio’s death, his cause for canonization was opened. On Sept. 7, a century after his death, he will be canonized along with St. Carlo Acutis.Wohar said that the older she gets, the more inspired she is by the fact that “he did everything that led to his canonization in just 24 short years.”

“He was surrounded by wealth; the family had maids, cooks, a chauffeur, a gardener. He was exposed to famous people from the world of art, politics, entertainment. He had all of the things the reality TV shows and so-called influencers dangle before our eyes as desirable. In other words,” Wohar said, “he had every reason to not be holy. But he knew from a young age what mattered in life. That is, to love God and do what God loves. And he did just that.”

Wohar will attend the canonization Mass for St. Pier Giorgio this weekend.

While the whole Church is energized by the canonization of St. Pier Giorgio right now, she urges the faithful to grow closer to the saint and continue to find inspiration in his story in years to come. 

“If you want to be successful in sports, you practice the fundamentals daily, you exercise or train whether you feel like it or not. Your spiritual life is no different,” Wohar said. “Pier Giorgio said we should try to be twice as strong in our spiritual muscles as in our physical muscles. He wants to help us reach the top. He did it, and so can we.”