Like Father, Like Son

One of the pitfalls of learning about someone only from books is that it is easy to develop a purely one-dimensional understanding of their character.  I think this is often the case with Pier Giorgio's father, Alfredo.

The takeaway people often have after finishing a book is that he was an atheist or agnostic, that he was a harsh man in an unhappy marriage who had little understanding of his son and even less tolerance for his religious views. This superficial sketch of his character isn't all that unreasonable given the translation of the few sources available to us in English.  But it really isn't an accurate depiction of the man who raised a future saint.

Alfredo Frassati was a high-achieving man from an early age.  He did some of his university studies in Germany and was fluent in that language.  (This made him an excellent candidate for the position of Ambassador to Germany later in his career.)

He was ambitious. He took a financial risk by borrowing money from his family to purchase the local paper.  He was a gifted journalist and editor and assembled a good team around him and his business venture was a huge success.  The newspaper he renamed "La Stampa" is still being published today and is still recognized as a leading Italian newspaper.

He held courageous political views for the times.  The infamous rise to power of Benito Mussolini brought fascism to the forefront.  Mr. Frassati was too great of a patriot to ever serve in such an administration and walked away from an ambassadorship.  When he resigned, he noted that he would never have been able to face his son had he stayed in that position.  But his resignation was driven first by his interior standards of proper governance and social justice.  He was outspoken in his views even when unpopular and at great personal expense.

He had great respect for Pier Giorgio and could rarely turn down any request his son made.  People would take advantage of this and ask Pier Giorgio to obtain favors from his father.  It was only natural that Mr. Frassati, being so worldly successful, hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps and pursue a career that brought some degree of fortune and fame.  It was hard for him to understand the other-worldliness of Pier Giorgio.

Alfredo loved the moutains and wrote beautiful passages about how being in the mountains made him feel close to God.  Sound familiar?  He loved the land and had a great interest in agricultural developments.  He was a talented sportsman and enjoyed horseback riding with his children.  He had a great appreciation for the arts and had high standards for how a man should behave. 

He was not in a happy marriage.  Who can know what each spouse contributed to the downfall of the relationship?  This definitely created tension in the home and was stressful for Pier Giorgio and his sister Luciana.  To their credit - and most likely thanks to Pier Giorgio's prayers from heaven - the Frassatis worked out their differences and did not separate. 

He did not understand why his son would spend so much time in Church or in prayer.  How could he, as a fallen away cradle Catholic with little faith, appreciate the fullness of Pier Giorgio's spirituality?  But he had great respect for the Church and it was very common to have priests and nuns in and out of the home as tutors or caregivers or visitors.  The home was also frequented by many important cultural and political figures which gave Pier Giorgio broad exposure to people of great wealth and power.

Alfredo Frassati made generous donations to places in need.  If you visit Pollone, the proof is all around.  At his newspaper office, he kept a supply of coal to give to the poor who could not afford it in the winter.  His sense of charity, we could say, was primarily of the kind of giving financial resources.  It was hard for him to understand a son who removed his shoes or coat and gave them to strangers.  But he understood charity.  Pier Giorgio learned about caring for one's fellow man from his father and mother.  They went about it differently but they all went about it.

Mr. Frassati was crushed upon the death of his son.  He couldn't bear to hear his name at times or look at a photograph of him.  As he slowly made his journey back to the Sacraments, he began to understand his son better than when he was alive.  He missed him his entire life and wrote so movingly in his last will and testament about his desire to rejoin him.

Pier Giorgio admired his father and was proud of him but their father-son relationship wasn't perfect. It had to be difficult to grow up in the shadow of such a well-known and influential journalist, businessman and politican.  Pier Giorgio would have traded all of that for his father to have a deeper relationship with the Lord in the Eucharist, most of all.  They shared so many interests and values but it was Pier Giorgio who was the spiritual head of the household.  In their own ways, each wanted more for the other.  In their own ways, each left a mark on each other and the world.

Whenever I visit Pollone, I like to stop at the little plaza just about a block down from the entrance to the home.  There is a monument of Alfredo Frassati.  Important men have monuments.  This one sits at the intersection of Frassati and Frassati - the two streets named for Alfredo and Pier Giorgio. 

I have to walk a bit farther down Pier Giorgio Frassati street to reach another monument. It is outside of the cemetery and has an image of Pier Giorgio walking with Pope John Paul II.  Important men have monuments.

Like father, like son.

Verso l'alto!  ///cmw

P.S.  Happy Father's Day to all of you hardworking men who set such an important example for your children.  I was blessed to have one of the best fathers God ever gave to a family. He went to his eternal reward three years ago.  Let us pray for all of our living and deceased fathers and add an extra prayer of thanksgiving for Alfredo Frassati.