OSV News – Isabel Gonzalez was all set to attend the Aug. 3 canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome. She booked her trip with a pilgrimage tour company and received permission from her job to take unpaid leave.
Gonzalez, who lives in Phoenix, has a strong devotion to Blessed Frassati, a mountain-climbing Italian and lay Dominican who loved serving the poor.
“I learned about him several years ago, and I’m sure along with many other young people, his life resonated with mine,” she told OSV News. “Getting to know him, I found a friend.”
But on June 13, Catholic News Service in Rome reported that Pope Leo XIV would canonize Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati together Sept. 7. Now, hopeful pilgrims have to decide whether to keep their summer travel plans, or find a way to make it to Rome for the fall canonization.
“Although the Vatican had never officially set a date for Blessed Frassati’s canonization, Pope Francis said last November that he intended to proclaim him a saint during the Jubilee of Youth July 28-Aug. 3,” CNS reported.
The official website of Blessed Frassati’s canonization cause had said the canonization would take place Aug. 3, when Pope Leo is scheduled to celebrate Mass with thousands of young people on the outskirts of Rome, according to CNS.
Nativity Pilgrimage, a Texas-based tour company, has three groups consisting of nearly 100 people who had booked a trip for the Frassati canonization. A few days after the announcement, the company emailed pilgrimage participants to let them know their trips would be moved to make the September canonization.
Heather Gabriel of Nativity suspects some won’t be able to make the new dates, but that many will be willing to change course. “Most people, they’ve been calling, asking, ‘What are we going to do, what’s going on?’ ever since the new Pope has been there,” she said.
Tennessee-based 206 Tours is keeping the schedule for its eight Frassati tour groups, though offering to take a pilgrimage group in the fall, too.
“It’s incredibly frustrating because we’ve already made nonrefundable payments to the hotels for everything,” said Phil Mauro, chief operating officer. “It’s not like something that can just be quickly moved, especially during the peak pilgrimage season during the jubilee year.”
Missing the canonization is a blow for many of the pilgrims, said Mauro.
“We’ve done our best to convey to the Vatican that not only does it cause people financial difficulty and us logistical difficulty, but that’s kind of secondary to the spiritual disappointment that people feel,” he said. It’s especially tricky when canonizations are announced only a few months ahead of time.
“It is a real scramble to try to get hotel rooms for a decent size pilgrimage group with about 100 days’ notice,” he said. “(More lead time) makes it not just easier for tour companies, but allows us to get the maximum amount of people there to witness those spiritually transformative, historic events.”
Lis Molter of Nashville, Tennessee, had hoped to be there for the canonization, but is sticking with her original plan of making a pilgrimage this summer. She’s a little disappointed by the change, especially for young people who might be unable to travel now that it’s during the school year.
“I wish they’d been more forthcoming in letting people know why, because there’s a lot of people that have made a lot of sacrifices,” she said.
Still, Molter is looking forward to her time in Italy. “I sincerely believe that God will give us what we’re supposed to have for this trip,” she said.
Come September, she’s hoping to host a canonization party at her home for all those who can’t be there in Rome.
“Both Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio are perfect examples for young men,” said Molter. “Their lives really demonstrated what it is to be holy and be holy in this contemporary culture we live in.”
If all goes well, Gonzalez plans to be at the Sept. 7 canonization. She hopes her tour company can pull a trip together, but if not, she plans to go solo.
“I’ve never been to a canonization, I think it’s a once in a lifetime thing,” said Gonzalez. She’s excited to be around other people who have a love for Blessed Pier Giorgio, and to soak up the graces that will come from being present at the canonization liturgy.
“I understand you can partake in that from home,” she said. “But if I have the opportunity to go and be there in person and also see Pope Leo, I’m so excited for that.”
Zoey Maraist writes for OSV News from Virginia.
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