"It's a double feast today!"

Today's great feast of the holy apostles and martyrs Saints Peter and Paul was a special one in the life of Pier Giorgio.  It was the day he celebrated as his name day, what we would call our feast day.

From Luciana Frassati's very moving book, "My Brother Pier Giorgio: His Last Days," we know that the last gift he received from his sister was a cigar case that he chose for himself that day while they shopped together.  Later, he joked with a maid, "Two cigars.  Today you have to give me two cigars: one for St. Peter and one for St. Paul; it's a double feast today!"  And when he went out in the evening to share a toast with his friends to celebrate his feast day, his Aunt Elena thought it strange.   Like many others in his family, she did not understand his spirituality. 

That fateful Monday in 1925 would mark the beginning of the end of his short life.  When his friends noticed that he did not seem well, he passed it off as a case of "muscular poisoning.  Too much activity these last few months."  But his aches and pains did not deter him from spending time with his friends and family and visiting the sick and the poor. He was then and is now the model of how to live holiness in our ordinary lives. 

"I also saw him serving for the bishop during the distribution of Communion in La Consolata Church on his feast day, as always with the seriousness and attention to detail that he gave to anything pertaining to the Church.  But in his life outside church, he was always rowdy and in high spirits."  -- (Testimony of Fernanda Casali Marini in the book, "Mio Fratello Pier Giorgio - La Fede,")

With those same high spirits, let us celebrate this double feast today.  Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!

Have You Frassati Fellowshipped Lately?!

With Pier Giorgio's feast day right around the corner, there is much to celebrate and many new places to do so!

This month, the Frassati Fellowship of Winston-Salem kicked off at the parish of St. Leo the Great. I had a wonderful time visiting Fr. Lucas Rossi and all the fine folks involved in this effort. If you are in that area and are in your 20s or 30s, this is a great opportunity to grow in your faith, have fun and fellowship with other people who are seeking to do the same.

La Salette Frassati Fellowship

The Baltimore Frassati Fellowship is also underway with a slate of monthly events at Saints Philip and James Parish. If you're anywhere near Attleboro, MA, check out the newly formed La Salette-Frassati Fellowship at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette.

Feel like a roadtrip to Indiana? Join the Frassati Society of Young Adults for their "Live Out Loud" conference on July 30th and 31st!

Heading to Fargo, ND? Tap into the Frassati Fellowship for a monthly spiritual boost!

Cruising through the Motor City? Check out the calendar for the Frassati Society of Detroit!

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple? Make plans to spend time with the New York Frassati Fellowship!

The list goes on. From the Frassati Society in Marquette, Michigan to Kokomo, Indiana to Tallahassee, Florida to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. And if you are putting on your cowboy boots and heading to Nashville, Tennessee, why not attend Mass at the Frassati House with the Vanderbilt Catholic Community of Blessed Pier Giorgio?It's fun to Frassati! So check out a group in your area or start one of your own! Be sure to share your website or Facebook page with us, so we can let others know where to find you. Verso l'alto!