THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas will rename the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati building once the lay Dominican is officially declared a saint.
Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said the move would “follow a process and coordination with pertinent offices” in line with the final date of Frassati’s canonization.
“As a Catholic institution, we need to update our building’s name based on the pronouncement of the Church. We honor Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as a person recognized for his exemplary holiness as a model for the youth,” Coronel told The Flame.
During the Catholic Action’s national assembly in Italy last month, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the head of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, announced that Frassati would be canonized in 2025.
The canonization will recognize Frassati’s influence as both a spiritual leader and social advocate in Turin, Italy where he is revered as one of its “social saints” for his deep commitment to God and service to the needy.
A member of the Third Order of St. Dominic, Frassati was an athlete and Italian activist known for his charitable outreach to the poor, homeless, sick and demobilized servicemen returning from World War I. He died in 1925 at 24 years old due to polio.
In 1987, Frassati was proclaimed as venerable, a title given to those whose “heroic virtue” has been recognized by the pope. Pope John Paul II beatified him three years later, describing the lay Dominican as “the man of the Beatitudes.”
According to Coronel, the University is planning to hold ceremonies to honor Frassati’s upcoming canonization.
”We are more than delighted to receive the great news of the canonization of Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati and there are already talks about pilgrimage, and masses to be held in the University for this special occasion. Renaming the building will follow,” he said.
The 22-story Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati building, the tallest edifice in the España campus, houses the UST Senior High School and UST College of Information and Computing Sciences.F
