Antonio Franco (26 September 1585 – 2 September 1626) was an

Italian Catholic The Italian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Italy, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy and Bishop of Rome. In add ...

priest and prelate of

Santa Lucia del Mela Santa Lucia del Mela ( Sicilian: ''Santa Lucìa dû Mela'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina. It is one of the largest comun ...

. Franco was beatified in 2013 when a miracle was discovered to have been performed through his intercession. Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

beatified him on behalf of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Biography

Franco was born in 1585 in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

to a noble family of French origins. He was born as the third of six children to Orlando Franco and Francesca Pisana di Antonio. Franco studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in civil and

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

on 23 September 1602 and he later pursued further studies at the behest of his father in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. But he would move to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to serve at the royal court at the insistence of his parents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1610 and he asked King Philip III to be a member of his court. On 14 January 1611 he was named a royal chaplain and Franco was later appointed as major chaplain of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

in 1616. With that appointment came the Prelature of Santa Lucia del Mela. When Franco was in Rome,

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

confirmed the appointment. He was formally installed in 1617. Franco was regarded as a man of holiness who lived with deprivations to life. He didn't eat much and he slept on the floor. He wore two chains all the time. He died at the age of 41 due to his deprivations and his remains were deemed to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

. He is buried in the Basilica of Santa Lucia del Mela.

Beatification

Simulacro contenente il corpo incorrotto Mons

The cause of beatification for Franco commenced on 11 April 1984 under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

with the declaration of ''

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

'' - this stated there were no objections to the commencement of the cause. That meant he could be made a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

.CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS: NEW PROCEDURES IN THE RITE OF BEATIFICATION
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Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

declared him to have lived a life of heroic virtue and proclaimed him to be

venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 14 January 2011. He later approved a decree ratifying the existence of a miracle on 20 December 2012 leading to his beatification. He was beatified on 2 September 2013 by Cardinal

References

External links and additional sources

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Antonio 1585 births 1626 deaths Beatifications by Pope Francis Italian beatified people 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sicily 16th-century Neapolitan people 17th-century Neapolitan people