FRASSATI PATHS

On the day following the death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, the Provincial Authorities of Biella decided to dedicate a path to him. This path would underline the affection in which local people held this Pope, a mountaineer, who had fulfilled his desire to come to venerate the “Black Madonna” at the Sanctuary of “Oropa”. The task of accomplishing this was given to the “C.A.S.B.”, the “Association of Friends of Biella’s Pathways”.
The itinerary was chosen with the precise aim of connecting the “Oropa” Sanctuary with the “Frassati” Path which, in turn, connects the mountains of “Oropa” with Pollone, birthplace of the blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, at whose tomb the Pope paused to pray.
In this respect, you may recall that in various locations in Italy, on the initiative of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club), several excursion routes have been named after the Blessed, who was a splendid Christian figure as well as being a young mountaineering enthusiast.
The path in Biella could not have been plotted along any course that did not include the slopes of “Mucrone”, the mountain symbol of the Biella area, overlooking “Oropa”, and a place that watched over the young Frassati’s “Oropan” excursions and pilgrimages.