The body of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925 and was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1990, arrived in Australia on Friday in readiness for its adoration by pilgrims during next month's World Youth Day in Sydney. It's the first time the remains have travelled to a World Youth Day, an event held somewhere in the world every four years. Frassati died from polio at the age of 24 after a brief illness.
An engineering student from a rich family, he helped the poor and has been elevated by the Vatican into a role model for young Catholics.
His relatives say his body was intact when his coffin was opened in 1990 in the lead-up to his beatification, which is the penultimate stage before sainthood.
Frassati's coffin will be on display in St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. It will not be open.
The highlight of World Youth Day will be a mass presided over by Pope Benedict XVI, who will be in Sydney July 12-21.
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