Robert Miller, associate professor of Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary College, presents “Climbing Mountains and Dodging Demons: The Dangerous Faith of Frassati and Longo” on Tuesday, April 21.
If a reformed satanic priest turned lawyer and a mountain climber forced to hide his faith from his antireligious father can become Catholic saints, anyone can turn their education and passions into a life with real impact.
That was the crux of the talk “Climbing Mountains and Dodging Demons: The Dangerous Faith of Frassati and Longo” by Robert Miller, associate professor of Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary College, on Tuesday, April 21.
The event served as the latest installment of “Lectures in Applied Theology in Honor of Sr. Peggy Murphy.” The series was established in 2024 to honor Sr. Murphy, a founding advisory board member of the Catholic and Dominican Institute who dedicated more than 20 years to teaching world religions at the college.
Miller’s presentation focused on the lives of Bartolo Longo and Pier Giorgio Frassati, two Dominican tertiaries (lay members) who were canonized by Pope Leo XIV just last year. Despite leading very different lives, both men wound up devoting themselves to God and making a difference in their respective communities.
Their stories demonstrate how holiness is accessible to ordinary people, regardless of their background: “No matter what your life situation is, you too could become a saint,” Miller said. Both men found extraordinary purpose within their everyday routines, Miller added, emphasizing that being a saint is a modern way of living rather than an old-fashioned ideal.
Longo is a fascinating case study in redemption. Born and raised a Catholic, he drifted into the occult during his university years in Naples, a reaction to his parents’ untimely deaths. It led him down a dark path, with Longo eventually becoming a follower of Satan.
But this created a life wrought with despair and anxiety, Miller explained. What finally brought Longo lasting peace and purpose was his return to God though the Dominican order, as well as a renewed devotion to the Rosary.
Longo eventually used his legal education to become a devoted community leader and advocate for the marginalized in Pompeii, earning two nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1902 and 1903.
While Longo’s struggles came mostly from within, Frassati’s were largely with society and family. Born into a wealthy, influential family in Turin in 1901, Frassati was a champion athlete and mountain climber who frequently used his social life to draw others toward faith. Miller noted that while Frassati was a “hustler” in the pool hall, he used those moments to challenge his friends spiritually: “If I win, you have to go to the holy hour with me, or you have to go to mass with me,” Miller explained.
After Frassati’s death from polio at age 24, his friends remarked, “Our parents couldn’t get us to go to mass, our priest couldn’t get us to go to mass, but Per Giorgio got us to go.”
Frassati’s final act was one of service. He asked his sister to take a prescription from his jacket to help a local man in need. His final written words were a testament to his mission: “Here are the injections for the poor man Converso... please renew the prescription and charge it to my account at the bank.”
Miller is a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and a board member for the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary - USA. He earned his PhD from the Catholic University of America and has extensively researched biblical theology, typology, and Mariology. In addition to his academic work, Miller coordinates the RCIA process in his parish and serves as the faculty advisor to the Mount’s golf team.