HIS personal motto, “to the highest”, was inscribed on his coffin, but not even Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati could have envisaged the extraordinary journey he would make more than eight decades after his death. The Italian student was just 24 when he succumbed to the effects of polio in 1925 but his brief life ministering to the poor has long been seen as an inspiration to young Catholics worldwide. According to Vatican officials who have inspected his remains, his body has never decomposed but his 150kg, zinc-lined coffin will remain closed throughout the Sydney visit, its integrity protected by red wax seals affixed by the Archbishop of Turin.

For World Youth Day co-ordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher, the arrival of the saint-in-waiting was the result of great planning and preparation. “Over several years we had conversations with his family – his sister, who has since died at the age of 105 – and his niece, who was a spring chicken of 80, was very helpful,” he said. “It was a very complex process – all I could really do was pray at his tomb in Turin and say: ‘We invite you and we want you to come’.” Pier Giorgio Frassati’s coffin will be on display at St Benedict’s Church, Broadway, until July 10. It will be moved to St Mary’s Cathedral on July 11 for the remainder of World Youth Day.

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