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Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati Day

Italian Chestertonians celebrate independence from the tyranny of the Everlasting Now
Photo by Marco Sermarini
Photo by Marco Sermarini

While we Americans have been celebrating our Independence Day, our friends the Tipi Loschi, in San Benedetto del Tronto, have been observing the anniversary of the passing of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died on this date in 1925. It’s also an occasion for them to celebrate G.K. Chesterton, their other unofficial patron saint. I asked Marco Sermarini to explain the concept of “Eternal Revolution” that they mark above. He responded:

“If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution.” — G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy.

Another shot of the group. A priest celebrated mass today from that stage:

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They brought in their friend John Kanu, a Distributist and Chesterton enthusiast, from Sierra Leone. Here is John teaching a class to the Tipi Loschi:

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From a story about John and Chesterton:

Among the Oxford professors, Kanu found Stratford Caldecott, director of the Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture. They became friends, and the Englishman introduced Kanu to Chesterton’s thought. “Three themes struck me in particular: the need for, as much as possible, the wider distribution of property among all members of society; the importance of the local economy and the artisans who live by the work of their hands; and the vision of the family as the main unit of society and consequently the base of a more extended multi-generational family. I told myself, ‘This is the best of the traditional African culture, reflected in the economic philosophy of a Catholic writer born at the end of the 19th century. And we are about to lose him.’ I started to think that, when I returned to my homeland, I would found a Chesterton Society in Sierra Leone”.

And that is exactly what happened.

I continue to be amazed and delighted by this Benedict Option community in Italy. They celebrate the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Emphasis on celebrate. 

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