THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas will begin the process of renaming the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati building to St. Pier Giorgio Frassati building following his canonization on Sunday, Sept. 7, at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel said the University would initiate the procedures in officially updating the name of the building under UST’s established policies and procedures on naming rights.
“With the canonization of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome, the University is grateful to share in the joy of the universal Church and especially the Dominican family. In light of this, the University will move toward officially updating the name of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Building to the St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Building,” Coronel told The Flame.
Coronel noted that the process requires a formal recommendation from UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, a consultation with the Council of Regents and final approval by the Board of Trustees.
“This process ensures changes are properly documented and consistently reflected in University records, communications, and signage,” Coronel said.
He added that the Office of the Secretary General, in coordination with the Office of the Rector, would oversee the procedure.
“Updates to physical markers, plaques, and official documents will be implemented once the renaming is approved,” the administrator said.
Plans to rename the building once Frassati is canonized were first announced by the Office of the Secretary General in March last year.
READ: From blessed to saint: UST to rename Frassati bldg
The 22-story Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Building, the tallest edifice on the UST España campus, houses the UST Senior High School and the College of Information and Computing Sciences.
‘Shining example of joy and faith’
Known in his native Turin, Italy, as a “social saint,” Frassati, the patron saint of UST SHS, was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic and an active Catholic layman. The young saint was admired for his charitable work among the poor, homeless, and sick, as well as for his support for demobilized soldiers returning home from World War I.
An athlete and student activist, he died of polio in 1925 at the age of 24.
“His canonization is a call for Thomasians to embrace our mission to seek truth (Veritas) and to embody charity (Caritas) in every sphere of life, following his shining example of joyful faith and courageous love,” Coronel said.
Coronel added that the young Italian’s elevation to the honors of the altar is a source of “profound pride and gratitude” for the Thomasian community, especially for students and young people who see in him a mirror of their own journey of faith and study.
Frassati was declared venerable in 1987 and was beatified three years later by Pope John Paul II, who called him “the Man of the Beatitudes.” F — with reports from Ma. Alyanna Selda
