College Honors Soon-to-be Patron Saint of Young People with Building & Painting

Just months before His Holiness Pope Francis canonizes Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati in the upcoming Jubilee Year, Thomas Aquinas College has unveiled a new painting of the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes” — now hanging in the student center, named in his honor, on the College’s New England campus.

The painting, unveiled for the first time at this year’s campus-wide Thanksgiving dinner, is the work of Courtney Giovinazzi, a classically trained artist and the mother of two TAC students, Enzo (NE’26) and Dominic (NE’27). “It was really a labor of love,” says Mrs. Giovinazzi. “I wanted to represent him as best I could.”

“We’ll have to change the signs on the building and maps to say ‘Saint’ and not ‘Blessed’ next summer. But what a joyous change to make!”

Formerly known as the Tracy Student Center, Bl. Frassati is the century-old, red-brick building that serves as a central hub for campus life, where students study, socialize, and host dances. On any given evening, they can be found reading on the couches and chairs, playing ping-pong or pool, and playing games by the fireplace.

Built in 1895 to serve as a gymnasium at what was then the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies, the structure features Queen Anne–style architecture, two towers, a spiral staircase, and a balcony running within its interior. Thanks to the generous gift of an anonymous couple, the College renovated the building in 2022 and renamed it in honor of Bl. Pier Giorgio, who is widely recognized as a patron of young people, known for his love for God and the poor.

Bl. Pier Giorgio “testifies that holiness is possible for everyone and that only the revolution of charity can kindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of men,” said Pope St. John Paul II at the Blessed’s 1990 Beatification Mass. “I, in my youth, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his Christian testimony.”

Wishing to commemorate the building’s namesake, the College began searching for an artist to render a painting of Bl. Pier Giorgio in 2023. “We wanted to have an image of him somewhere in the student center,” says Director of East Coast Development Patrick Ford. “But the kind of composition we wanted was rather specific.” Because the image was to be hung above the building’s fireplace, a somewhat dark area, the color palette needed to be light and bright to stand out.

Mr. Ford didn’t have to look far: Mrs. Giovinazzi was delighted for the opportunity to create such a piece for the College. After some discussion, the two settled on a portrait-style painting in oil on canvas.

Not many pictures of Bl. Pier Giorgio exist because photography was still in its infancy during his earthly lifetime, and the few photos available are small and grainy. “Most of the pictures I found online were just photos of the original photos,” says Mrs. Giovinazzi. “Some had a good view of his face; others had him in a very lifelike position. In the end, I used several different photographs as references for the portrait.”

It took two years and several drafts before the final painting was complete. “I worked on it in little bursts during my spare time,” said Mrs. Giovinazzi, a homeschooling mother of three. “I would say to myself, ‘Alright, if I get this or that done quickly, I can go upstairs and work on the painting!’ It was my ‘me time.’”

“It was really a labor of love. I wanted to represent him as best I could.”

The completed piece shows Bl. Pier Giorgio crouched on a rocky hillside, a nod to his love of hiking and outdoorsmanship. The young Blessed smiles at the observer with a warm, inviting grin that hints at his sense of humor and mischievous spirit. (He was known as “the Holy Terror” because of his love of practical jokes, which he would play on friends and family.)

Onlookers gasped when Dean Steven Cain unveiled the painting before the College community; they then broke into cheers and applause as he thanked Mrs. Giovinazzi for her magnificent work. Head Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey next blessed the painting and sprinkled the area with holy water. “It is my hope that Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati will watch over and intercede for all of our students,” said Dr. Cain.

The unveiling and dedication of the painting was especially opportune as, only a few days prior, the Holy See announced that Bl. Pier Giorgio will be canonized in the summer of 2025. “We’ll have to change the signs on the building and maps to say ‘Saint’ and not ‘Blessed’ next summer,” laughs Dr. Cain. “But what a joyous change to make!”