Pier Giorgio first encountered the Dominican Order in 1918, and over the course of the following years, he decided to join as a lay member in 1922. This was not an impulsive decision but a carefully considered choice, as professing as a lay member of the Order is not like joining any ordinary association. It requires a profound Christian commitment to prayer, life, and relationships, which is both specific and consistent.
Pier Giorgio received the Order’s habit from Fr. A. Arrighini, in the presbytery of the Church of St. Dominic in Turin. That year marked the seventh centenary of the death of St. Dominic. Among those present at the ceremony were Fr. Martin Gillet, future Master of the Order, Fr. Reginaldo Giuliani, Fr. Enrico Ibertis, and Fathers Filippo and Francesco Robotti.
Pier Giorgio made his profession in the hands of Fr. Francesco Robotti, in the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace, also at St. Dominic in Turin. This marked the beginning of a new path for Pier Giorgio, one shaped by his imitation of the Holy Father Dominic and two other Dominican figures who deeply inspired him: St. Catherine of Siena, whose Dialogue of Divine Providence and Life he read frequently, and St. Thomas Aquinas, whose Summa Theologica he began to study systematically. He was also inspired by Brother Jerome Savonarola.
Pier Giorgio admired Savonarola’s fervor, radical commitment, and his refusal to settle for anything less than the fullness of Christian life. The readings of De Ruina Mundi and Miserere particularly stirred him during a time of moral decay and political corruption, which was also the rise of fascism, against which Pier Giorgio spoke out from the beginning.
From the friar from Ferrara, he also took the religious name ‘Brother Jerome,’ which he often used when signing his letters.
In a letter to his friend Antonio Villani, dated August 31, 1923, and now in the Blessed’s Office in the Liturgy of the Hours, Pier Giorgio wrote:
“I would really like you to take the name of Brother Jerome, not because it is the name I have as a son of St. Dominic, but because it reminds me of a figure dear to me and certainly to you, who, like me, shares the same sentiments against corrupt customs: the figure of Jerome Savonarola, whose name I unworthily bear.”
Pier Giorgio perfectly embodied the Dominican motto contemplata aliis tradere (“to hand on to others the fruits of contemplation”), uniting in his daily life the Rosary, the Divine Office, and service to the poor. His presence gave Christian witness in every environment—whether social, familial, academic, or even political.
Like St. Dominic, a contemplative in action and a preacher of the Gospel in every situation, Pier Giorgio glorified his Order with all the passion and dedication of being a member, with all his faith and energy.
From the book “Sulla via dell’amore. Studio su un carteggio di Pier Giorgio Frassati con un amico” by Nicola Gori (Quaderni di Famiglia Domenicana)
