Pier Giorgio Frassati (6 April 1901 – 4 July 1925) was an Italian Catholic activist and a member from the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He was dedicated to social justice issues and joined several charitable organizations, including Catholic Action and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, to better aid the poor and less fortunate living in his hometown of Turin; he put his own pious beliefs into practice to cater to their needs and was best known for his devotion and amiable character. Frassati was an avid mountaineer who often climbed with his friends; he was an able swimmer and athlete best known for engaging in such social activities with a range of like-minded friends. His charitable outreach towards others knew no bounds for he identified with and aided the poor and ill from his childhood. His social status granted him greater freedom in aiding others who needed it most. His cause for canonization opened in 1932 after the Turin poor made several pleas for such a cause to open Pope Pius XII suspended the cause in 1941 due to a range of allegations later proven to be false, which allowed for the cause to resume. Pope John Paul II beatified Frassati in May 1990 and dubbed him the "Man of the Eight Beatitudes". Life Pier Giorgio Frassati was born on 6 April 1901 – Holy Saturday – to Alfredo Frassati (28 September 1868 – 21 May 1961; an agnostic who owned the noted liberal newspaper La Stampa) and Adélaïde Ametis (17 February 1877 – 18 June 1949) who was a noted painter. His only sibling – a sister – was Luciana Gawronska (18 August 1902 – 7 October 2007). His father was also active in national politics and he served in the Italian Senate before later becoming the Italian ambassador to the German nation. His parents married on 5 September 1898. His artist mother had works exhibited at an event in Venice that saw King Victor Emmanuel III purchase some of her works. His paternal grandparents were Pietro Frassati and Giuseppina Coda Canati. Frassati's inclinations to help others had manifested in his childhood. There was one occasion as a child where he answered the door to find a mother begging with her son who was shoeless. His response was to take off his own shoes and give them to the child. In 1909 his father refused to