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Following is a translation of an excerpt from an article by Vittorio Tusa:
Pier Giorgio was declared Blessed in 1990 after a long process that began in 1932, with the opening of the Ordinary Informative Process on the reputation of holiness, by the Archdiocese of Turin. In the first three years, the documents relating to birth, baptism, supplementary acts of the Sacrament were collected as well as the certificate of Confirmation and 25 witnesses were heard. In 1935, the Sacred Congregation of Rites opened the Acts of the Ordinary Process, and after a further three years the Congregation issued the Decree on the Writings. The Salesian Fathers took care of the Postulation of the Cause of Beatification, and the Introduction of the Cause was set for the end of 1941.
In the Ordinary Congregation, the 2/3 of the votes in favor necessary for the introduction of the cause were not reached, because on the very day of the vote an anonymous letter arrived that mentioned a generic claim of "not full correctness". The Pontiff consequently issued a sentence of "Dilation" which was followed by the opening of two Supplementary Processes and three Investigations. The Promoter of the Faith, before the summer of 1944, reported to the Holy Father the outcome of the supplementary investigations, who ordered the "Reponatur" of the cause. It should be remembered that the testimonies in the acts of the Processicoli, which were oriented in the opposite direction to the anonymous writing, unfortunately did not flow into the Public Copy consisting of over 3000 pages. The hearing in question was probably short – conditioning the examination of the case – as it was celebrated on the day of the retreat of the Germans from Rome and the arrival of the Allies.
In the audience of January 1945, the Pope pronounced the "Non expedire" for the supposed difficulties that would arise in the Processicoli. This happened despite the fact that a note had been drawn up by the Prefect of the Congregation of Rites in which he stated that he had examined the acts of the Processicoli, where the doubts about the Frassati case would be resolved. In 1951, the saint's sister sent 955 testimonies as proof of her brother's virtues, and the documentation was entrusted to a Consultor. In 1953, a report was presented in favor of the Cause and resolving any doubts, but unfortunately it was not delivered to the Pontiff but to the Archives of the Congregation, and remained there for many years. In 1965, the new Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, moreover unknown to the report, ordered a new investigation into the controversial points of the Cause of Beatification, which ended favorably.
In 1967, the report was presented to the Pope, who ordered an exhaustive study to be carried out, but the Congregation did not proceed. In 1974, the Secretary of State asked the Prefect of the Congregation to re-examine the Frassati Cause. In 1975 the Pope, fervently complaining about the slowness of the "system", ordered to consult the Archbishop of Turin regarding the instruction of the Cause of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who replied with great solicitude (in just 7 days) to proceed without doubt because of the importance of the model of holiness covered by the young man from Turin. In 1976, the Vow was delivered to the Prefect of the Congregation with a favorable content, and in 1977, the Pope ordered the "Procedatur ad ulteriora".
The Actor of the Cause in Catholic Action – which Pier Giorgio had joined – and the new Postulator were then indicated. In 1978, with the Ordinary Congress, the Introduction of the Cause was unanimously approved. The Peculiar Congress of Cardinals unanimously approved the Vow and the Pope issued the Decree of Introduction. In 1980, the Apostolic Process on the Virtues began. In 1987, following the Decree of validity of the Acts, the "Positio super virtutibus" was presented, which was followed by the Congress of Theologians on the virtues of the Servant of God, the "Congregatio Ordinaria Cardinalium" and the Decree on the heroic virtues.
In 1989 the Supplementary Apostolic Process on the alleged miracle, the Medical Consulta, the Consulta of Theologians, the "Congregatio Ordinaria Cardinalium super miro" and the Decree on the miracle followed. On May 20 of the following year, having finally reached the summit, Pope John Paul II celebrated the Beatification of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who with his smile reminds us that "to live without a faith, without a heritage to defend, without sustaining the truth in a continuous struggle, is not to live but to get by"!
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Following is a summary of the canonization process found on the official canonization website (piergiorgiofrassati.net):
July 2, 1932
Seven years after Pier Giorgio's death, the fame of sanctity that surrounds him is such that the ecclesiastical authority of the Archdiocese of Turin feels the duty to respond to the numerous requests that have reached them and begins the Ordinary Information Process. This Canonical Inquiry continues until October 23, 1935: 25 witnesses and 2 contexts are heard, one of whom is the doctor Prof. Ferdinando Micheli, who assisted Pier Giorgio during the illness that led to his death.
November 18, 1935
Opening of the Acts of the ordinary process at the Sacred Congregation of Rites. The public Copy consists of 3429 pages. Three years later, on 21 December 1938, the same Congregation issued the Decree on the writings. The postulation of the cause was entrusted to the Salesian Fathers, who took care of drafting and printing the Positio super Introductione Causae which was required by the Code of Canon Law then in force (Summary: June 5, 1939; Information: May 15, 1940).
December 9, 1941
The ordinary Congregation for the introduction of the cause is held. Further information is requested («dilate") and two supplementary trials were held in Turin and Rome in 1942, following which, based on the information drawn up by the Promoter of the Faith, Pope Pius XII first decided on a further postponement and then, in 1945, the "do not send", which stops the proceedings.
January 21, 1977
Thanks to the various investigations carried out over the intervening 35 years, also making use of the tireless work of Luciana Frassati, Pier Giorgio's sister, the Prefect communicates the decision of Pope Paul VI during the ordinary Congress of the Congregation: «proceed further". The case can then resume. In the spring of 1977 it was clarified that the plaintiff in Pier Giorgio Frassati's case was Italian Catholic Action.
June 20, 1977
Cardinal Marco Cé, Patriarch of Venice, General Ecclesiastical Assistant of the ACI, sends the Jesuit Father Paolo Molinari the mandate as postulator of the cause of Pier Giorgio Frassati. The vice postulator is Brother Gustavo Furfaro of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
June 16, 1980 - July 2, 1981
The Apostolic Process on the virtues takes place. The Decree of validity of the Acts is dated June 12, 1987.
October 23, 1987
The decree of heroic virtues is issued.
December 21, 1989
The decree is issued super aim which recognizes the miraculous healing of Domenico Sellan from Pott's disease in the 30s through the intercession of Pier Giorgio Frassati.
May 20, 1990
Pope John Paul II officiates the beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
June 30, 2010
Following the renunciation of Father Molinari upon reaching the age of eighty, Italian Catholic Action appointed lawyer Silvia Correale as postulator of the Cause of Canonization, who in turn appointed Roberto Falciola as vice-postulator.
September 29, 2023
The diocesan instruction is filed with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints super aim which presents a miracle attributed to the intercession of Pier Giorgio.