Following Sunday’s canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati, the school organized a week of celebration in honor of the new saint.

Frassati’s short life began in Turin, Italy. Born in 1901 into a wealthy family who owned the town’s newspaper, he grew up with parents who remained in an unhappy marriage, which became a major source of conflict in his life. Regardless of this issue, Frassati persisted in his deep devotion to the Eucharist, guiding him down a path of holiness. Throughout his life, Frassati was deeply committed to service to the poor within his community where he likely caught polio, which would later prove to be fatal. After his death, to the surprise of his family, many of those whom he served lined the streets of Turin to honor their virtuous friend. Because of Frassati’s example, McGuinness students voted in 1995 to adopt Frassati as the school patron because of his truly virtuous life when he was still considered “blessed.”

As part of the celebration, Campus Minister Kelly Golbuff’s Spiritual Leadership class gave out stickers and candy to students Monday. Golbuff said she believes Frassati is still a good representation for the school because of his multifaceted representation of student life.

“There’s a lot about Pier Giorgio that I think a lot of us can relate to, and to know that this was someone who didn’t let his youth get in the way I think that’s what’s really cool about both saints that were canonized this weekend,” Golbuff said.

In addition to Monday’s festivities, the student body celebrated an all-school Mass in honor of the saint Tuesday.

“They drew other young people in at a time when people were kind of going away from the church, kind of like they are now, so I think they could have a lot of positive influence,” Father Rick Stansberry said.

For senior Gia-luc Nguyen, the canonization reminded him of Frassati’s devotion to God and those around him even in the face of hardship.

“Just from the way he lived his life, he was very oriented to God through other people and to other people through God, so it’s that interrelationship between the two that helped them to be better,” Nguyen said.

Finally, Wednesday the school community celebrated Grandparents Day with another Mass where the Frassati chapel was rededicated in order to recognize his sainthood and example to the school community.

“One hundred years after he died, we all still know him, and we all can be inspired by his life,” Golbuff said.