An Open Book: My Brother Pier Giorgio, His Last Days

At the end of this post, I'm going to recycle an old Amazon/Goodreads review that I wrote six years ago, because it is about a book which I believe should be read by as many people as possible and I love having the opportunity to promote it.  This book is a biographical work titled My Brother Pier Giorgio, His Last Days, written by the saint-in-the-making's sister, Luciana Frassati.

If you haven't heard of this extraordinary young man, or if you don't know a whole lot about him, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's life story is utterly fascinating and incredibly inspiring.  This particular book deals only with his final week on earth--with his last days: his "passion" and tragic death from polio at the age of just 24.  If you want to read more about him, here is a short article; or you could read this biography,  A Man of the Beatitudes, a longer book also penned by his sister, which covers his whole life from birth to death.  (I had my youngest son read this more in-depth book in 8th grade, when he was being homeschooled; I can't think of a better--or more relatable--role model than Pier Giorgio, when it comes to helping adolescent boys grow in manly virtue.)

I admire Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati so much that I had to include him in my Catholic novel Finding Grace.   I thought this would be the only novel I would ever write, and I wanted to include every subject that was important to me; this saintly young man made the cut.

My shy little heroine, Grace Kelly, who is determined to achieve the goal of sainthood while living in the in the turbulent, post-Vatican II 1970's, is "introduced" to Pier Giorgio.  (I won't tell you how--you'll have to read the book to find out!  But it took some finagling, I'll tell you, because the story takes place long before he was beatified.)  She becomes enchanted with him to the point of having a bit of a crush, even though he's been long dead. 

After discovering Pier Giorgio in a book about modern saints called Faces of Holiness,  I was intrigued by the handsome young Italian who'd had such a short life but had made such an impact during his time on earth.   I wanted to read as much as I could find about him.  (Indeed, I developed a bit of a "saint crush" on Pier Giorgio--just like my Grace did in the novel.)  That is what led me to the first book I ever read about him, My Brother Pier Giorgio, His Last Days, a slim volume that stayed with me long after I'd finished it.  I devoured it in one sitting and have re-read it many times since.   I'm sure I'll read it again, too.  In fact, writing about it today is making me feel like reading it very soon.  (Into the bedside table "to read" pile it goes!)

I can't recommend this book highly enough.  Here's that review that was first published six years ago.  (If you do read this book, I'd love to know what you think of it--and of him!)
 

My Brother Pier Giorgio: His Last Days
by Luciana Frassati

Laura Pearl's review

Sep 18, 13                                                

5 of 5 stars

It's almost impossible for me to put into words how inspiring this book is. Luciana Frassati's memoir about her brother's last week on earth--when he lay dying of polio at the age of 24, surrounded by his unwitting loved ones in his family home, quietly suffering until the bitter end so as not to divert the attention from his elderly grandmother, who was also dying--is one of the most moving and affecting tributes it has ever been my privilege to read.

I was first introduced to Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925), a perfect model of Christian faith, hope, and charity if there ever was one, when I read a couple of pages about him in a book about modern saints called Faces of Holiness. Something about his story--and his handsome face with its engaging smile--spoke to me, and I wanted to learn all I could about him.

My Brother Pier Giorgio, His Last Days is the first complete book I ever read about this future saint, who was named a Blessed by Pope John Paul II and is considered a patron of young adults (although I went on to read a biography, also penned by his sister, titled A Man of the Beatitudes). I devoured it in one sitting. And not long afterward, I re-read it. Then I re-read it, and for good measure, I re-read it once again...I truly don't know how many times I've read this beautiful book at this point. It's a slim volume, and a quick read; but so much holiness, self-sacrifice, and love are packed in its pages.

This book will inspire you to become a saint, and it will show you that you can be an "average Joe" like this young Italian man was--an athletic mountain climber, a jokester with countless friends, a student who struggled academically, a son who was misunderstood and underappreciated by his family, a man in love who had to renounce the woman of his dreams because his parents didn't approve of her--and yet, you can make the kind of heroic sacrifices in your daily life that will put you on the path to Heaven. You can love God and revere the Blessed Mother. You can treat the poor and the sick with true Christian charity.

It has been said of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati that he always carried a Rosary in his pocket, and that people were moved to imitate him just by seeing the joy on his face when he prayed. I know that I, for one, have been moved by him. And this heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting, story of his last days is well worth your time--whether you're a Catholic or not. 

That's it for me.  But don't forget to head on over to Carolyn Astfalk's latest Open Book link-up for more book recommendations!

Pearls in Rome, Day Eight (Arrivederci, Roma!)

Wednesday, March 27

As I come to the end of this series about our fabulous Roman Holiday a little over a month ago, I realize that there are so many pictures I never even got around to sharing, pictures of some of the most iconic sights in Rome--such as Il Vittoriano, or the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II), the famous white marble edifice located in the heart of the city that has been nicknamed  "the Wedding Cake."

I took a few quick pictures of this impressive and imposing landmark (including the requisite selfie) when we passed by it on our second day in Rome, as we were making our way over to the Colosseum for our tour (my head was on a swivel, I'll tell you, and my eyes were just about popping out of my head, taking it all in!).

There are other places, too, that I never got around to talking about--such as the Castle Sant'Angelo on the bank of the Tiber River. This structure was originally built by the emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum but later became a papal refuge.  There is a secret corridor that connects it to the Vatican, so that the pope can flee to safety if Vatican City comes under siege.

I took some photos, including this one, of the Castel Sant'Angelo on the days we visited St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums.

Actually, this might be a good time to tell you that if you haven't been following along and want to catch up with the "Pearls in Rome" series, here are links to Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, and Day Seven.  (Even though these posts have a lot more pictures than words, going through so many of them probably seems a bit daunting.  So suffice it to say that we saw a lot of amazing things and it was just about the best week ever...and I have fallen head-over-heels in love with Rome!)

I chose a travel-friendly outfit for the long flight back to the US.  I almost always dress in a skirt and tights for air travel, a holdover from my husband's early days with the airline (way, way back in the late 1980's!), when there was a strict dress code we had to follow if we wanted to take advantage of the perk of free stand-by flights.  But for this day of sad farewells, I chose a casual ensemble of jeans, a flowy, loose-fitting top, and a soft, open-front blazer. This 3/4-sleeve jacket was a staple of my wardrobe for our week in Rome, and it even fit nicely under my roomy trench coat on the cooler days.  (It was an inexpensive Walmart find--and if you haven't ever shopped for clothes there you should really check it out!)

Our bags were packed and sitting by the door.  [Sniff!]  Before we walked out that door for good, we did one last quick check of the apartment to make sure that we hadn't left anything behind and that the place was as immaculate as possible.  (As VRBO homeowners ourselves, we know how much it is appreciated when guests treat the property respectfully!)

There was a taxi stand right next to the Pantheon, which was a few minutes' walk from "our" little apartment.  So we left at 7:00 a.m. and dragged our roller-bags over the cobblestones toward the Pantheon to catch a cab to the Termini train station.

That's my guy up ahead.  I was lagging a bit...reluctant to leave!

Good bye, Pantheon!  I'll miss you!

We boarded the Leonardo Express, and I couldn't stop taking pictures (from my seat on the train, through the window)--even as the city rushed past us in a blur.

Before we knew it, we had been assigned seats on our flight-- together up in First Class (woo hoo!).  That's all I needed to feel safe and comfortable on the trip across the big, blue ocean: my OBALP (Old Building and Loan Pal) sitting right beside me.

Actually, I needed one other guy with me, too.  I always hold this St. Joseph holy card in my hand when we take off, and I say the Unfailing Petition to this powerful saint that is printed on the back of the card.

(I say all I needed was those two guys to feel comfortable...but the cocktails, four-course meal, dessert cart, and movies-on-demand didn't hurt either!  I can't lie.  Those things definitely helped to take the sting out of having to leave my beloved Rome.)

I watched a couple of movies.  I read a book on my Kindle (Ornamental Graces by Carolyn Astfalk--I recommend it!).  And before I knew it, we were back on American soil.

I still can't believe we went on this trip!  We had talked about it many times over the past 15 years or so, and had even started to make plans on several occasions; however, more important family-related matters came up and we had to put our dream of a Roman Holiday on hold.  But we finally did it!  We actually made that dream come true.  I have to pinch myself sometimes.  Ask my husband how many times I've said recently, completely out of the blue, "Thank you so much for taking me on that trip!"  (His reply is always, "No, thank YOU!")

Our meals since we've been back home in VA have had a heavy Italian influence.  LOL!

I know I'll never forget our time in Rome.  But I also think that these blog posts documenting our days there will help to keep the memories fresh for me.

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane!  And if it is your dream to visit Rome one day, I hope you get to do it.  You will not be disappointed!

Pearls in Rome, Day Seven (Vatican Museums--Including the Sistine Chapel!)

For the entire time we'd been in Rome thus far, my hubby and I had seen nothing but sunshine and blue skies.  (If you haven't been here in a while and you want to read the first six posts about our recent Rome trip, here are links to Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, and Day Six.)

Tuesday, March 26

On Day Seven, we had our first experience with gray and gloomy weather.  It was raining lightly but steadily as we walked over to the Vatican Museums in the morning and waited in a fairly long ticket line. Luckily, the coat I'd packed for this trip was a loose-fitting, water-repellent trench with a hood attached, so I was able to stay dry enough.  We didn't have umbrellas, and we probably should have bought one from one of the many vendors trying to sell them to us as we waited in line.  But my husband decided he could deal with the rain bare-headed, and fortunately it never really poured down hard.  Before we knew it, we were inside anyway.

We rented two sets of audio tour equipment, which consisted of headphones plugged into little battery-operated boxes that hung about our necks.  These devices gave audio narrations explaining all that we were seeing, room by room.  If you missed a bit of information about a particular piece, you could hit the replay arrow and listen again.  The rooms and many of the individual works of art in them were numbered, and we used the little audio tour boxes to select the numbers we saw as we made our way through the museums.  (Did that make sense?  I hope so.)

The Vatican Museums display a vast collection of priceless works of art which have been amassed by the popes throughout the centuries.  There are so many pieces of precious artwork housed in theses museums, including world-renowned ancient Roman sculptures, giant tapestries depicting the life of Christ, and some of the most acclaimed masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance painters.  There are rooms filled with  magnificent frescoes by Raphael.  And that's before you even get to the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's famous and indescribably beautiful paintings on its ceilings.

Friends, readers, bellas...I don't think I can describe what we saw.  As usual, when it comes to this Rome trip, I'm going to have to mostly let my pictures do the talking.  (And luckily, until we got to the Sistine Chapel, visitors were allowed to take as many photos as they pleased.  So what do you think this visitor did?  That's right, you guessed it: she took a whole slew of photos!)

The first rooms were filled with artifacts from ancient Egypt...including actual mummies!

Then there rooms filled with hundreds and hundreds of Roman sculptures, astoundingly life-like figures created by the hands of incredibly skilled artists.

The tapestries were breathtaking.

The opulent beauty of everything the eye beholds as you walk from one section into the next is indescribable.  If you are a lover of art, or architecture, or just plain beauty in general, a visit to the Vatican Museums is for you.  Actually, I can't imagine any human who could help but be moved by the majesty of it all. The term "awesome" is overused in our day and age, so that it has kind of lost the power it should have; but that is the perfect word to describe this amazing place.

My husband and I both felt unutterably moved by the almost otherworldly beauty of Raphael's paintings.  We spent a lot of time in the rooms adorned with his frescoes.

I remember thinking, "How can the Sistine Chapel be any better than this?!  How can Michelangelo's paintings be as good as Raphael's?"

I was about to find out...because when we finally got to the last stop on the tour, I was completely blown away.  My husband and I spent quite a lot of time in the Sistine Chapel, standing in the midst of throngs of noisy tourists, listening to our audio boxes and replaying some of the sections.  We just couldn't tear ourselves away from that magnificent chapel.  People were admonished to be quiet and remember that this was a holy place, a place of prayer, but it got loud at times.

When we first entered the Sistine Chapel, I didn't notice any signs saying that photography was against the rules (later, my husband would explain that the warning sign near the entrance had been hidden by the thick crowds), and I saw dozens of people pointing their cell phones and cameras at the walls and ceilings.  So thinking that it was okay to do so, I started to take photos with my iPhone, too, until I was told to stop.  (After that, numerous announcements were made over the loudspeaker reminding visitors that photography was not allowed, yet most people kept snapping away. I am a rule follower, though, so I stopped as soon as I was told to.)  I actually have a few beautiful pictures of the huge wall fresco known as "The Last Judgment" on my phone, taken when I didn't know photo-taking was a no-no; but I don't feel right publishing these "forbidden" images at the blog.  So here's one that I found on the Internet.

I was also thrilled to see (and get a photo of) this beautiful lady Michelangelo painted on the ceiling, an image that I'd tried to recreate with charcoal pencil as a very amateur teenaged artist (I once wrote a short post about this subject here).  Something about this face has always appealed to me.

My husband and I ended up buying two souvenir books at the Vatican Museums gift shop, one called Raphael's Rooms and the other titled The Sistine Chapel.  These picture books are filled with all the glorious paintings by those two unparalleled artists that we were lucky enough to see with our own eyes on our seventh day in the Eternal City.

We had purchased our tickets at about 11:00 a.m., and we didn't emerged from our long day of touring the museums until 5:45 p.m.!  Wow, that was some experience!  By then, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again.  We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather than we had during our time in Rome.  The temperatures were mild, and other than that not-too-heavy rainfall on the morning of the seventh and last day, it was simply glorious all week!

As we left the Vatican area, we passed by Old Bridge and this time there was no line, so we enjoyed some cones piled high with gelato. (Later, after dinner, we would each order another double scoop over at Giolitti's, just before we headed back to our apartment and called it a night--because we thought our last full day in Rome deserved an extra treat.)

They had an Oreo flavor--and it was molto delizioso!

Walking back across the Tiber River, as the sun began to set, the view from the bridge was incredible...I mean, just look at this stunning picture I got--with the dome of St. Peter's there in the distance.  (#nofilternecessary)

This was another night that we had a later dinner than usual, and it was the only time all week that we didn't dine al fresco.  Looking through a guide book one day in our apartment, we had stumbled upon a recommended restaurant called Fraterna Domus di Roma.  Located in the heart of ancient Rome (near the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the Vatican), Fraterna Domus is actually a convent where the sisters in residence serve a family-style meal each night of the week except for Thursdays.  We had made a reservation, and starting at 7:30, we were served a four-course, home-cooked dinner (soup and/or pasta, salad, pot roast with potatoes and green beans, fruit) by the most friendly and adorable Italian-speaking nuns.  We thought having dinner in this cozy and welcoming convent dining room was a fitting way to end our week-long sojourn in Rome.

Even the tiny chapel in this mid-city convent was inordinately beautiful.  I couldn't help snapping a quick picture as we passed by it on our way out of the building.

After dinner, we strolled to our Pantheon neighborhood.

We were kind of stuffed (the nuns did not take no for an answer when they came around with heaping platters, offering seconds!), but we had to have one last gelato at Giolitti's.

After that, we went back to the apartment to start the packing process, because we were going to have to catch a taxi at 7:00 the next morning, and then a train to the airport...

It was almost time to say a sad arrivederci to Roma...

More to come!