Blessed Pier Giorgio Michelangelo Frassati was born on April 6, 1901, in Turin, Italy. He was born to an upper-middle-class family. His father, Alfredo Frassati, was the founder and director of a newspaper entitled “La Stampa” and was actively involved in Italian politics.  His mother, Adelaide Ametis, was a painter. Pier Giorgio also had a sister named Luciana who was a year younger, and with whom he was close.

He attended middle school at the Massimo d’Azeglio in 1910. On June 19, 1911, Pier Giorgio received his First Holy Communion. In 1913, he transferred to the Jesuit-run Instituto Sociale, where he also began to take daily Communion.