An Overview of Pier Giorgio's Student Years

Pier Giorgio's life as a student began at home with his sister Luciana.

In 1910, they passed the entrance exams to enter the State school Massimo D'Azeglio in Turin.  After a few months, their mother recognized they were still too young for school and withdrew them until the following year.  She enrolled them in the same grade, despite being a year apart in age.  In 1913, Pier Giorgio's academic life would suffer a setback; but the end result would have a profoundly positive effect on his spiritual life.  Specifically, at age 12, he failed his Latin exams and was sent to a private school, the Istituto Sociale, operated by the Jesuit Fathers.  (The Italian educational system permitted students in the private schools to complete two years in one.  So, Pier Giorgio was actually able to repeat what he failed while completing the next grade at the same time.  After successfully completing the requirements for both grades in one year, he was able to return to his regular school and rejoin his classmates.) 

Having failed caused him such shame that he wrote this letter to his father:

Pollone, October 1913

Dear papa,
            I am confused and miserable and I don’t even know how to write to you; I saw how upset Mama was and I thought about you, so much that I don’t know how to ask for a word of forgiveness.  I am also sorry that I have to stay behind and I am ashamed in front of my classmates and my sister who have gone ahead of me.  I hope you will once again believe in the sincerity of my resolve to study this year and try to make up for everything as much as possible.
            I received your letter: I already wrote you back.  I stayed even more miserable when I read the letter of the professor to whom I am writing a couple of lines on mama’s advice.
            You will see that I’ll try to prove my love for you with facts.

            A kiss from your
Pier Giorgio

At the Istituto Sociale, Pier Giorgio experience for the first time an environment that would nourish his spiritual life.  In February 1914, he joined the Apostleship of Prayer, the Eucharistic Crusade, and the Company of the Blessed Sacrament.  He was encouraged to receive daily Communion which required the consent of his parents.  This story is recounted by the rector, Father Pietro Lombardi, S.J.:

"I have glowing memories of my student Pier Giorgio Frassati.   I was his Spiritual Director at the Sociale for a year and although I have seen many young men both before him and after, I always remember Pier Giorgio ...
            The way Pier Giorgio’s daily communions began is really strange.  He came to the Sociale Middle School and right away agreed with my suggestion to receive Holy Communion every day.  But he astounded me when asked if this would be religiously and morally possible.  When I said it would be, he followed the example of many other students and began to come to Holy Communion every day.
            Some days passed, when one fine morning I saw coming toward me Mrs. Adelaide Frassati.  In my opinion her religious practice was a bit too formal, and not very profound.
            She was stubbornly opposed to daily Communion and she argued unsuccessfully against it, while trying at the same time to understand its advantages...
           I had to give in on the matter of daily Communion, which she feared would become merely a habit for Pier Giorgio but not a sincere religious practice.   In conclusion, the whole situation calmed down and became less of a problem.  Evidently she didn’t know her son, and I had to agree that I would restrict him to one Communion per week.  However, I said to myself:  “This will do for now.”  In fact, only four days later I heard a banging on my door:  it was Pier Giorgio, jumping for joy to tell me, “Father, I’ve won!”  I asked, “Whatever have you won that’s made you so happy?  Have you hit the jackpot in the lottery?”  And he shot back, “Hey, Father, you know very well what I’ve won – I can receive Communion every day.  I just insisted on it!”

In October 1914, Pier Giorgio returned to the state school and rejoined his sister's class.  But in 1917, at age 16, he failed his Latin exams a second time and had to return again to the Jesuit school where he would finish his high school career.  Pier Giorgio described the situation in a letter to his friend Carlo Bellingeri on October 26, 1917:

 "Maybe you already know that I failed.  I really didn’t think about flunking Latin, instead I was worried about composition and instead the opposite happened.  I will go to the Sociale, where I’ll attend second year classes in hopes of taking the first year exams in February."

In 1918, he received his high school certificate.  He enrolled in the School of Industrial Mechanical Engineering at the Royal Polytechnic of Turin, declaring a specialization in mining engineering.  As he told a friend, he decided to become a mining engineer so he could "serve Christ better among the miners."  At that time, those who worked in the mines were among the poorest and subject to some of the worst working conditions.  This attracted Pier Giorgio's missionary spirit. 

In July of 1923, his sister completed her doctor of jurisprudence degree (equivalent of a bachelor's degree in the U.S.) at the age of 21. 

"On Monday my sister got her law degree, her thesis being on public water legislation, and she graduated with distinction and full honors." (Excerpt from his letter to Antonio Villani, July 19, 1923)

Pier Giorgio was very proud of Luciana's accomplishments but he continued to struggle with his own studies.

"I began the series of exams in this Holy Year poorly enough because yesterday after an hour of tough questioning, the prof. made me withdraw because I didn’t know how to sketch well." (Excerpt from his letter to Marco Beltramo, January 15, 1925)

A week before his death, he made a list of all of the exams needed to complete his degree.  Despite his best efforts, Pier Giorgio remained two exams short of his degree when he died in 1925.  However, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, April 6, 2001, the Royal Polytechnic Institute of Turin passed a special resolution posthumously conferring upon Pier Giorgio his degree in mechanical engineering.