Something you might not know about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Girolamo Savonarola

Until about a year ago I was unfamiliar with Pier Frassati, but thanks to Terry for posting on this amazing contemporary man of faith and making me more familiar with him.

With that said many people know that Pier was a third order Dominican, but few people

know where he got his third order name of Girolamo from.  Truth be told Blessed Frassati was a great supporter of the often maligned Friar Girolamo Savonarola who was a constant thorn in the side of corruption in the church at his time including the wrongly maligned (future posts will make this clear) Alexander VI.  Savonarola was burned at the stake but did accept from Pope Alexander VI a plenary indulgence for accepting his fate.  Often times protestants will point at Savonarola as a forbearer of the protestant revolt but this is fanciful thinking.  Savonarola was a Catholic through and through and his work would later form many saintly lives including St. Phillip Neri who was trained by the Friars remaining brothers.

This is what Blessed Pier Frassati said of the Friar:

"I would very much love it if you would take the name of Fra Girolamo, not because it is the name that I have as a son of St. Dominic, but because it recalls a figure who is dear to me and certainly to you as well, since you share my feelings against corrupt morals – Girolamo Savonarola, whose name I most unworthily bear. I am a fervent admirer of this friar, who died at the stake as a saint, I wanted to take him as a model when I became a tertiary, but I am far from imitating him. Think about it and then write to me with your ideas regarding this."

Blessed Frassatis signature with Girolamo used instead of Pier

There was a push for Savonarola’s canonization not to long ago but it would propably be incredibly imprudent to push him through considering some of the things he did were not especially good. 

A HUGE, HUGE thank you to Terry over at Abbe Roads who brought this up a while back!

+JMJ+