Tailgates, baseball games, hiking trips, and God. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the new club at St. Pius X, the Frassati Club, an all-male club that centered around fellowship and faith. 

The club’s moderators, theology teacher Mr. Andrew Pudysz and Chaplain Fr. Rey Pineda, said they established the group with the hope of “bridg[ing] the gap between activities and hobbies students enjoy with their spiritual life,” and explained that they want members to become “good, upstanding citizens of society and practice their faith and use their God-given talents to praise the Lord and help the community.” 

Founded just last year, the club has close to 90 members.

“We were really glad to see everyone come back [from last year’s group],” said Mr. Pudysz. 

With so many different friend groups and grade levels in the Frassati Club, Fr. Rey said that getting everyone familiar with each other was extremely important, so they have different social events planned throughout the year. This fall, for example, they went to Mass together at the Chancery then walked to SunTrust Park to catch a Sunday afternoon Braves game. They also had a cookout on campus before a home football game. Future events include tubing, hiking, and going on a men’s retreat at Covecrest or Hidden Lake.

These outings allow the members to get to know each other and the community better. 

“Our goal is to foster an authentic brotherhood among the faithful and encourage a community that shows fidelity to Christ,” Mr.  Pudysz said.

To help foster this brotherhood even more, they decided to choose the student leaders of the club in an interesting way: a watermelon eating contest.  Senior Jacob Pajer, juniors Jackson Mulligan and Mason Benefield, and sophomore Matthew Banna were declared the winners after a messy competition in the front courtyard.

But the group isn’t just for socializing; it wants to make a positive impact on the world as well. Modeled after Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian Catholic social activist in the early 1900s, the club also prioritizes helping the community. For example, they plan on volunteering at Saint Luke’s Soup Kitchen in Atlanta later in the year. 

Fr. Rey wants their service opportunities to be more than helping those in need, saying that “we can learn from those around us, from their experiences.”

The club’s motto is a Latin phrase from Frassati, “Verso l’alto,” which means “towards the top.”

“The quote reflects our overarching goal to end up in heaven,” Mr. Pudysz said.

If you’re interested in joining the group, contact Fr. Rey or Mr. Pudysz.