Watch Pier Giorgio on EWTN this weekend!

This weekend on July 2nd, 3rd and 4th, EWTN will re-broadcast a 2009 interview with Wanda Gawronska -- the niece of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. It will air for 30 minutes each day at 1:30 p.m. EST. If you do not have EWTN on your television, you can watch it online via their audio/video streaming: http://ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp.

For those of you outside of the United States, check the schedule in your part of the world: http://www.ewtn.com/tv/schedule_index.asp.

Pass it on and tune it in! Verso l'alto!

Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul!

Today is a very special day for friends of Blessed Pier Giorgio. "Peter" being the first part of his name, this feast was always considered his name day. In those days, it was still a holy day of obligation. (By the way, it remains a holy day of obligation in the Eastern Catholic Church to this day.)

This feast day also marked the beginning of Pier Giorgio's last days on earth after contracting the polio disease. One of the most moving books by his sister Luciana is: My Brother Pier Giorgio, His Last Days. In the opening pages of the book, she recounts the request Pier Giorgio made to the maid Maria on that day. "Two cigars. Today you have to give me two cigars: one for St. Peter and one for St. Paul; it's a double feast day today!" (p. 8) I love the fact that his good sense of humor remained with him even to the end. And it is nice to read how much he practiced his faith and celebrated the great feast days of the Church.

We are on the fifth day of the novena in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio. How nice to be able to celebrate the patron saint of Pier Giorgio just a few days before we celebrate the feast of Pier Giorgio himself! Verso l'alto!

Now you can download and print the Frassati Novena!

For those of you who will be joining the worldwide Novena in Honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, you can now download and print a .pdf version of the prayers. The document is in the forms section on the FrassatiUSA website. Click here to go directly to the novena page.

If you want to include your intentions with those being offered around the world, visit the website of the Compagnia dei Tipi Loschi. Click here to go directly to the page inviting your participation. In the small box on the right, click on the word "INGLESE" to read the instructions in English. They will post your prayer intentions on their website if you send an email to: info@tipiloschi.com and include your name/group and country of origin. (If you want to see all of the intentions already posted on their website, click on the word "ADESIONI" at the bottom of the small box on the right or click here to go directly to that page.) On the Fourth of July, they will offer a special Mass for all of these intentions.

Day One of the Novena begins today. Start your prayer engines! Verso l'alto!

Frassati Novena Begins Friday June 25th!

We all need a little help from our friends -- especially our friends who are already in Heaven! Friday, June 25th, marks the start of the novena in honor of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. It will conclude in time to celebrate his Fourth of July feast day! All of the novena prayers can be found on the website.

If you are on the FrassatiUSA mailing list, you should have received an email today with some additional info. If you did not receive the email, your email provider may have blocked it or sent it to your spam folder. Be sure to add "info@FrassatiUSA.org" to your address book to be sure to get future emails.