For these young adults, soon-to-be-saint Frassati has ignited their faith amid fellowship

CHICAGO (OSV News) -- With the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati coming up Sept. 7, only a century after his death, the spirit of his faith life rooted in frequenting the Eucharist, prayer and study, as well as service to those in need, and a great love of the outdoors are alive and well among young adult groups across the United States.

The Frassati USA website lists almost three dozen young adult groups under the Frassati name. Some of those are made up of groupings of several young adult ministries.

Kyle Radgowski is one of the organizers of the Frassati Fellowship for young adults in Chicago's southwest suburbs. He told OSV News the group has grown significantly in the one year that it has existed, with more than 50 members in its chat group and about a dozen regularly participating in monthly events. These include Scripture study, social and outdoor events like hiking, and accompanying elders in prayer and other activities at a senior home.

Radgowski, 27, said the soon-to-be-saint was very relatable and helped him to feel comfortable about living out his own faith and being open about being Catholic, which he said surprisingly expanded his circle of friends.

"He was studying to become a mining engineer," Radgowski said. "He was looking to just live a normal life and he wasn't doing any extraordinary things like some of the mystics we read about in the Catholic Church. He literally was somebody that any lay Catholic could see and be like, 'Oh, I can live that same exact life.' And I think that's what really set my Catholic faith on fire."

At age 10, Blessed Frassati received his first holy Communion; two years later, he asked to be able to receive Communion daily. His mother, Adelaide Ametis, a talented painter, objected for fear that he could lose reverence for the sacrament, which she said could simply turn into a habit. But the boy begged until his mother relented several days later and he became a daily Massgoer, missing it only on rare occasions.

When he was 22, Blessed Frassati -- by then a Third Order Dominican who studied writings of Sts. Thomas Aquinas and Catherine of Siena and a staunch proponent of the Eucharist -- gave a speech to young people encouraging them to frequent the sacrament.

"Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles, the struggles against passions and against all adversities, because Jesus Christ has promised to those who feed themselves with the most holy Eucharist, eternal life and the necessary graces to obtain it," he said in a speech in Pollone, Italy, during one of the many Eucharistic congresses he attended.

Blessed Frassati, who died two years later of polio, also attended Eucharistic adoration, often staying in the sanctuary overnight until he left early in the morning to go hiking in the mountains. The words "Verso l'alto," or "Toward the top," became a phrase associated with Blessed Frassati after he wrote it on a photograph taken of himself, less than a month before his death at 24, looking up during a mountain climb. It became symbolic of his young life lived with the end goal of reaching eternity.

For Sarah Spaulding of the Columbus Frassati Society in Ohio, Blessed Frassati was her introduction to Eucharistic adoration. Her group, which has been around for 10 years, holds monthly adoration, gathers at a weekly book club to discuss spiritual writings, goes on hikes while praying the rosary and does various service events such as praying outside abortion clinics.

Spaulding, 33, said in the eight years she has been with the group, she has learned a lot about having the support of peers in the faith from the soon to be saint, whose life exemplified strong friendships and a deep love for those on the margins.

"I didn't know who he was, really, when I first came," she said. "And I was not really even familiar with going to adoration either. And I found that kind of intimidating, but it's nice to have the people in the group who grew up with that kind of faith practice and are able to answer my questions and recommend different spiritual readings and stuff like that. That's been a huge help."

Briana Manzanares of the Frassati Fellowship at Holy Spirit Church in Fresno, California, said her group is significantly smaller than the young adults in the Newman Center for California State University at Fresno. But she said a core number of their members have activities very much tied to Blessed Frassati's lifestyle, such as Mass and adoration followed by hiking or other social events every first Saturday of the month.

"For me personally, it was a lot of his personality" that drew her to Blessed Frassati, Manzanares, 35, told OSV News.

"Just how vibrant and alive he was. So I think the focus of our group is trying to kind of extend that to people -- people who don't feel like they have a place in the church or who have walked away for a long time or haven't felt comfortable in other groups," she said.

Manzanares called Blessed Frassati's canonization "really important," because even if he died when he was just 24, he "had such a big impact on his community and the poor." This, she said, has helped inspire young people to see how much they can do for the church.

Julie-Anne Buonasora, 33, coordinator of Frassati New Haven in Connecticut, said her group is very excited about the upcoming canonization.

"It feels unreal," Buonasora told OSV News. At the same time, she added, "It's what it should have always been; like, 'Yeah, of course he's going to be canonized.'"

Buonasora has been with the Frassati group that meets at Blessed Michael McGivney Parish, where the Knights of Columbus founder's remains are interred, for nearly 10 years. She said she was glad to find a group right after college to continue sharing in regular Eucharistic adoration together.

Buonasora said the parish has scheduled a special Mass on the day of the canonization specifically for the young adult community. They have also organized a hike, she said, "in the spirit of" Blessed Frassati.

As with most -- if not all -- of the Frassati young adult fellowship groups OSV News talked to, the New Haven group always asks for their patron's intercession before God.

Dominican Father David Mott, chaplain of the sizable Charlottesville Frassati Fellowship at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Virginia, told OSV News that Blessed Frassati has attracted young adults who had not previously heard of him.

"To learn about a person whose life is something we all are drawn to emulate, both in enjoying the beauty and the good of this earth, as he did; enjoying going to Mass and adoration and prayer, as he did; enjoying healthy, social laughter with friends his age as he did and serving others who need help and are dependent on charity, as he did," Father David reflected. "I think he's the perfect icon, if you will, of the young adult community called to sanctity."