From Pope Paul VI to Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo XIV. The Popes have looked at the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and seen more than just an inspiring biography. They have recognized in him a living portrait of holiness, one that is not reserved for the extraordinary few, but possible for each of us.

Pope Paul VI called him a young man of “interior freshness” whose strength came from communion with God. Saint John Paul II hailed him as “the man of the eight Beatitudes,” a title that captures how Pier Giorgio made the Gospel his personal blueprint. Pope Benedict XVI held him up as a model for youth, urging them to imitate his courage in bearing witness to the faith. Pope Francis often repeats Frassati’s challenge to “live, not just get by,” and Pope Leo XIV recently reminded the Church that “no one is born a saint” — sanctity is forged, as it was for Pier Giorgio, in the small choices of daily life.

When the Popes speak of Pier Giorgio, they are not merely honoring a holy young man from the past. They are pointing to a map to one that we too can follow. Holiness, they tell us, is not about escaping the world, but engaging it with joy, prayer, and selfless love. Pier Giorgio climbed mountains, laughed with friends, served the poor, and defended the truth. In doing so, he showed that the heights of holiness are reachable for anyone willing to take one faithful step at a time.

His life is a mirror in which we can see the saint we are called to become. The Popes have seen it. Now, it’s our turn to believe it.

Pope Paul VI on Pier Giorgio Frassati

As a former FUCI assistant and close to the Frassati family, Paul VI played a pivotal role in resuming Pier Giorgio’s cause for sainthood. On the 7th anniversary of Pier Giorgio’s death (3 July 1932), Montini reflected:

“How can we still be Christians? Pier Giorgio answers with life… He was strong because he was austere. Austere and sweet and alive… from communion with God… interior freshness…”

Pope John Paul II on Pier Giorgio Frassati

John Paul II had a long-standing admiration for Pier Giorgio, even before ascending to the papacy:

As Cardinal, he famously called Pier Giorgio: “Here is the man of the eight beatitudes!”

At Pier Giorgio’s beatification on 20 May 1990, he echoed the sentiment:

“By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ’s Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed’…”

He also described him as:

“the Man of the Eight Beatitudes” and even “the man of our century”, highlighting his love and charity as a beacon in a turbulent era

Speaking to youth (on 5 April 2001 in Rome):

“His existence as a ‘normal’ young man shows that one can be a saint by intensely living friendship, study, sports, service to the poor, in a constant relationship with God.”

Pope Benedict XVI on Pier Giorgio Frassati

Benedict XVI frequently referred to Pier Giorgio as a powerful example for youth:

At a General Audience on 5 July 2006, he said:

“May his example of faithfulness to Christ inspire in you, dear young people, resolutions of courageous evangelical witness.”

On 4 July 2007, he added:

“May his example strengthen you… in bearing witness to the Gospel in every circumstance of life… offer daily sufferings… support you, dear newlyweds, in building your family…”

In May 2010, he described Pier Giorgio as:

“Young like you, he lived his Christian formation with great commitment… testimony of faith, simplicity and efficacy… discover that it is worth it to commit oneself for God… even when it is costly.”

Pope Francis on Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pope Francis has frequently quoted Pier Giorgio across different occasions:

In his Letter for WYD 2016, he cited Pier Giorgio’s own words (from a 1925 letter): “Living without a faith, without a heritage to defend, without sustaining the truth in a continuous struggle, is not living but eking out a living. We must never eke out a living, but live.”

At a General Audience on 13 June 2018:

“Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was a young man, used to say that one must live, not just get by…”

In 2020, during the WYD Cross delivery:

“A young man like you… said this: ‘I want to live, not just get by.’”

In 2022, he included Pier Giorgio among examples of youthful holiness:

Pier Giorgio exemplifies how one can be “a young, responsible, credible believer, a happy, smiling believer”—a model for youth

And during a greeting in June 2024:

Recalling how Pier Giorgio helped the poor in Turin, Francis said:

“He did not get lost in the ‘good life’… in him there was love for Jesus and for his brothers.”

Pope Leo XIV on Pier Giorgio Frassati

In preparing for Frassati’s upcoming canonization, Pope Leo XIV reflected during a homily at the Mass for the Jubilee of Sport (15 June 2025):

“His simple and luminous life reminds us that, just as no one is born a champion, so no one is born a saint.”

As a living model for young people, Pope Leo XIV exhorted the youth during the Closing Mass of the Jubilee for the Young People (03 August 2025):

“Aspire to great things, wherever you are. Do not settle for less.”
He encouraged them to look beyond shallow pursuits and emphasized that true fulfillment lies in what we “joyfully welcome and share,” not in what we hoard. In this, he held up Frassati — alongside Carlo Acutis — as an example for their dedication to charity, humility, and authentic Christian joy.

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