Originally published at National Catholic Register
The Jubilee Year of 1925 held personal and professional uncertainty for Pier Giorgio.
The waiting is over. On Nov. 20, 2024, Pope Francis ended his Wednesday audience with a surprise announcement: the upcoming canonizations of Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati. What an appropriate way to create jubilation for the upcoming Jubilee 2025!
Although the lives of these two young men both embody a deep love for the Eucharist, they have had quite different paths toward canonization. For Frassati, it has been a journey profoundly shaped by two jubilee years.
One hundred years ago, Pier Giorgio was preparing to celebrate the Jubilee Year called by Pope Pius XI. During that Advent season, Pier Giorgio concentrated on reading the works of St. Augustine and had “grand” plans to move into the works of St. Thomas Aquinas — what he considered “delightful readings.”
The Jubilee Year of 1925 held personal and professional uncertainty for Pier Giorgio. If all went well, he would finally finish his academic career and obtain his degree in mining engineering. He hoped to serve the poorest of the working class in the mines; but his father had expectations of him to work for the
