I first read the story of Blessed Pier Giorgio at the age of 16. When I was 18, I received a relic of him, a piece of linen from his deathbed. From then on, I considered him as my brother in heaven.
When I discovered that he became a lay Dominican at a young age, it also inspired me to enter a third order. And so, in 2014, I entered the Secular Oblates of St. Benedict, and made my oblation (promising to observe the Rule of St. Benedict for all of my life) last September 2015.
Bl. Pier Giorgio is a luminous example that everyone is called to sainthood, no matter the age, temperament, or profession. Together with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, they have shown us that age is no barrier when it comes to a free and loving response to the grace of God.
-Patrick