Abren en Italy a multimedia museum dedicated to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

A new multimedia museum dedicated to the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati has opened its doors in Turin, Italy, offering pilgrims and visitors an immersive look at the vibrant faith, political commitment and Marian devotion of the next saint.

Located in the former rectory of the church of Santa Maria Di Piazza – where Frassati used to spend hours in Eucharistic Adoration – the permanent exposure, entitled “Towards the other” (“Towards the other”), It is an initiative of the Archdiocese of Turin and was inaugurated on July 5.

The Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Roberto Repole, and Mayor Stefano Russo presided over the film’s cutting ceremony. The inauguration was the culmination of three days of commemorations by the centenary of the death of Frassati.

In an interview with CNA – Ewtn News advertise – the cardinal expressed their hopes for the future of this small museum.

“My hope is that this place gathers many dimensions of our city. That it can become a meeting space between people from different cultures and peoples, because it could really be visited by many tourists, and that it is a testimony especially for the world of young people,” said Cardinal Recole.

And he added that Blessed Frassati teaches Catholics “that at any stage of life you can live fully, you can live holy.”

Although of modest size, the exhibition has several rooms with large video projections, historical photos and some Felsati belongings to tell the story of his life.

The name of the museum makes a word game with the famous phrase of Frassati, “Upward” (“Towards the top”). By adding a single letter, the title of the exhibition, “Towards the other” (“Towards the other”), also highlights their charity towards the poor and marginalized.

The exhibition arrives just in time for the influx of visitors planned for the jubilee of the youth convened by the Vatican at the end of July, as well as for the Canonization of Frassati, which will take place next to that of Blessed Carlo Acutis on September 7.

Christine Wohar, Executive Director of Frassati USA – a non -profit apostolate based in Nashville, Tennessee, dedicated to spreading the life of the Blessed – celebrated the opening of the museum as a long -awaited tribute in the hometown of Frassati.

“I am very excited that there is now an exhibition space dedicated exclusively to him and I hope it is something permanent for future pilgrims to enjoy it, especially after their canonization,” said Wohar.

The Tomb of Frassati is located in the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista de Turin, which also houses the Holy Sabbion, a sacred relic that is believed is the shroud of Jesus.

The exhibition includes fragments of Frassati cards, videos that show the places that formed it – Turin, its suburbs, European cities he visited and the pollone field – and pays special attention to the mountains that used to climb as a symbol of his spiritual ascent.

Next to the snow rackets of Frassati, mounted on a museum wall, an appointment of a letter that wrote to a friend in 1923 is exhibited: “Every day I fall in love with more and more of the mountains and I would like to spend whole days in them, contemplating in that pure air the greatness of the creator,” Frassati wrote.

Cardinal Repole stressed that Frassati is an important witness for today’s young people as “a young man full of vitality and joy”, and with an impressive “Eucharistic devotion.”

“Above all, I would say that he is a man of faith, someone who really bet his existence for faith in Jesus Christ, finding in him a full sense of life that led him to live it to the fullest, although he died young. And I think that in this sense the young people of today have a great need,” he added.

Sister Carmela Busìa, Pastoral Coordinator of the Archdiocese for young people and children, described the exhibition as an invitation to discover how to “live youth intensely.”

“He was able to find time for everything: friendships, studies, prayer, commitment and fun. ‘Towards the other’ Young people will find a partner on the way, to understand how to devote themselves to others, ”he said.

The entrance to the museum, located in Via Santa Maria, 4, is only with prior reservation through email prenotazioni@versolaltro.it or on the Versoaltro.it website.

Currently, video facilities are available only in Italian, but versions in English, Spanish and Polish will be offered from September 1 for international visitors attending canonization.

The pilgrims can also visit the family house of the Felsati in Pollone, about 80 kilometers north of Turin, where, with a special permission, you can see the bedroom of Pier Giorgio, preserved with its original furniture and with a view to the alpine peaks that it loved so much.

Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.