Pier Giorgio Frassati was born on April 6, 1901, Holy Saturday, in Turin, Italy. He was the son of Alfredo Frassati and Adelaide Ametis. His father, a prominent liberal and influential figure, owned the daily newspaper La Stampa for six years, steering it to great success during the 1910s and 1920s until fascist pressure forced him to sell it. A close friend of Giovanni Giolitti, a leading Piedmontese politician and long-time Italian Prime Minister, Alfredo was appointed senator of the Kingdom in 1913 and later served as Italy’s ambassador to Berlin in 1920.

Due to his demanding professional commitments, Alfredo was often unable to dedicate much time to the upbringing of Pier Giorgio and his younger sister Luciana, born a year after him. As a result, much of their education and moral formation fell to their mother, Adelaide.

The Frassati household, reflective of the norms of the time, was marked by a strict and formal atmosphere. Despite this, Pier Giorgio’s encounter with the Gospel as a young boy left a profound and transformative impression on him. He was deeply moved by the stories of Christ, often acting out gestures of charity and kindness far beyond his years.

While Alfredo, a non-believer, could not guide his children in matters of faith, he respected their spiritual journey and refrained from obstructing it. Adelaide, on the other hand, possessed a faith influenced by religious norms and a keen artistic sensibility, expressed vividly in her painting. Pier Giorgio, however, managed to transcend rigid religious practices, uncovering the profound meanings behind them and integrating faith into daily life with remarkable seriousness and authenticity.

From this foundation, Pier Giorgio consciously chose a path as a man of God, cultivating an intimate and profound relationship with the Lord. His faith manifested not only in prayer but also in acts of tangible charity, even as a young child.

One touching story illustrates his innate generosity: when a frail woman came to the family home carrying a barefoot child, Pier Giorgio immediately removed his own shoes and socks and handed them to her before quickly closing the door to avoid any objection from the household. Another time, while visiting the nursery school in Pollone, he noticed a child isolated because of a severe skin condition. Without hesitation, he sat beside the boy and, unnoticed by the busy Sister Celeste, shared his meal with him, spoonful by spoonful, erasing the child’s sadness and loneliness.

Pier Giorgio’s life was marked by countless such moments of love and service, exemplifying his faith through concrete actions. These acts of kindness, often unseen and unacknowledged, reveal the depth of his spirituality and the profound impact he had on those around him, even in his brief life.