St. Frassati draws Filipino Gen Z Catholics to Manila Cathedral festival

Organizers of the event include the University of Santo Tomas-based Young Thomasian Professionals Lay Dominican Fraternity, the Manila Cathedral, and the Frassati Society-Philippines.

A Catholic youth festival honoring St. Pier Giorgio Frassati returns to the Manila Cathedral, as Filipino Catholics reflect on what holiness means for a generation raised in the digital age.

Now on its second year, Frassati Day brings together students, clergy, and lay organizations from June 25 to July 4—marking his first feast day since his canonization in September 2025.

The event carries the theme “Pataas sa Diyos, Pababa sa Kapwa,” a line drawn from Frassati’s life of devotion, service to the poor, activism, and mountaineering.

Organizers include the University of Santo Tomas-based Young Thomasian Professionals Lay Dominican Fraternity, the Manila Cathedral, and the Frassati Society-Philippines.

Frassati’s devotion has found a particular home in UST, where he’s the patron saint of the Senior High School. The campus paper, La Stampa, is named after the publication ran by Frassati’s father. The saint’s legacy is also enshrined in a campus building named after him.

For many Filipino Catholics, the renewed focus on Frassati reflects a broader search for models of faith that feel relevant to young people navigating modern life.

That relevance sharpened further after his canonization alongside St. Carlo Acutis, the first millennial-era saint dubbed “God’s influencer.”

The pairing has become a reference point in youth ministry circles: Frassati represents faith lived through action, nature, and service; Acutis represents devotion expressed through digital life and technology.

Together, they’re often presented as contrasting but complementary paths: one rooted in physical presence and community, the other in online spaces where many young Filipinos now live.

At the Neo-Romanesque Manila Cathedral, an exhibit on Frassati’s life will run from June 27 to July 4. Frassati Day will include prayers, Eucharistic adoration, youth talks, rosary recitation, and a mass presided over by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula.

The festival is open to the public, with pre-registration required for Frassati Day activities at https://bit.ly/frassati2026prereg.

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