The Apostle of Germany and the Ambassador of Berlin

Today the Church commemorates the martyrdom of St. Boniface who was murdered by a band of pagans in the eighth century.  His precise date of birth is not known but he was around 75 years old when he died.

St. Boniface, an Englishman, earned the title, "Apostle of Germany" after spending some 36 years building up the church there as a missionary.  He was a man of action, a great lover of books, and had great reverence for the epistles of St. Peter.

In the collection of letters written by Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the name of St. Boniface does not appear.  Interestingly, he did spend the saint's feast day in Germany at least once - when he was 20 years old.  From his writings, we know he visited museums and tourist attractions in and around Munich that day.

Whether or not Pier Giorgio had a devotion to St. Boniface, these two holy men did have something in common: they shared a love for the German people. For Pier Giorgio, this began at an early age.  It was no doubt fostered by his father Alfredo who had himself studied at the University of Berlin. By the time Pier Giorgio was 10 years old, he was already writing short letters to his family in German. Years later, when Senator Frassati was appointed as the Italian Ambassador to Germany, the Frassati family began to spend quite a bit of time at the Embassy in Berlin and Pier Giorgio's intention was to continue his engineering studies from there.

In March of 1921, Pier Giorgio met Father Karl Sonnenschein who ministered quite a bit to the Italian population of Berlin. This holy priest had the reputation of being "the Saint Francis of Berlin" because of his extensive service to the poor. He invited Pier Giorgio to participate in the Catholic organizations that served both university students and workers.  And it was through a connection of Father Sonnenschein that Pier Giorgio came to live with the Rahner family as a way to sharpen his language skills.

Inspired by Father Sonnenschein, it wasn't long before Pier Giorgio was serving the poor on the streets of Berlin as he had done in Turin. He became known as "the other ambassador" - that is, the ambassador to the poor.

The letters of Pier Giorgio reveal many friendships forged in Germany, his fondness for the German people, and the extent of his travels in that region. His time there had a big impact on his young adult life. He regretted having to return to Italy and suffered from a distance with the German people when they were being oppressed by the government of France.

" I left Germany with great regret because I am a great admirer of the character of the German people...The occupation of that section of Germany is a disgrace because it means the ruin of the most Catholic part of the German population, but on the other hand it will be of much use to Germany because it will draw the sympathy of the free nations.
            Now I am beginning my studies which I had interrupted and within two years I will also be, if God grants me life, working in the Ruhr; and as a Catholic I will help the Germans as much as possible in its recovery, because I consider the war against France to truly be a Holy War since France is the nation which is the daughter of Darkness, enemy of Peace.

Like St. Boniface, Pier Giorgio was a great lover of books and a man of action. He made public his support for the people of Germany by writing a letter in German that was printed in the Deutsche Reichs-Zeitung (a German newspaper) as a protest against the French occupation of the Ruhr. He continued looking for ways to help financially, as well; most often, anonymously. 

Although he preferred the epistles of St. Paul to those of St. Peter, Pier Giorgio exemplified the same missionary zeal for the German people that was the trademark of St. Boniface. It seems fitting on this feast to remember both the Apostle of Germany and the "other ambassador" of Berlin.  St. Boniface and Blessed Frassati, pray for us.

Verso l'alto! ///cmw