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 ...

Nicola D'Onofrio (March 24, 1943 – June 12, 1964) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

and member of the Camillian order from Abruzzo, Italy who was declared

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 ...

in 2013.

Early life

Nicola D'Onofrio was born in Villamagna, Italy to Giovanni and Virginia Ferrara D'Onofrio. His interest in the

Camillians The Camillians or Clerics Regular, Ministers to the Sick () are a Catholic religious order founded in 1582 by St. Camillus de Lellis (1550–1614). A large red cross was chosen by the founder as the distinguishing badge for the members of the Ord ...

began in his childhood when he saw the large red cross on their religious

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

. When he was ten years old a Camillian priest invited him to join the Camillian students in Rome. After studying for one year, his parents gave him permission to join the Camillian school. He entered the school on the feast day of

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

Religious Life

D'Onofrio took his simple

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

. He was devoted to

and received daily

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. He studied the works of Saint Camillus de Lellis, the founder of his order, and dedicated time to the needs of his religious community.

Illness and Death

Nicola began to feel the first symptoms of illness in 1962 but did not receive a diagnosis until six months later. On July 30, 1963, he was operated on and diagnosed with

sarcoma A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues. Sarcom ...

which had begun to metastasize. In January 1964, an

X-Ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

revealed his cancer had spread to his lungs. D'Onofrio was sent to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

and

Lisieux Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pa ...

for the grace of healing. A fellow Camillian when saying goodbye before his pilgrimage said, "Over the next few days all of us will pray for you" to which Nicola replied "Yes, but pray not for my healing, pray that I may do the will of God." A request was sent to

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

to allow him to take his perpetual vows. He was granted permission and took his vows on May 28, 1964. On June 5, he was given the Sacrament of the Sick. On June 12, his family and close friends surrounded him. He spent the entire day in prayer and died at 9:15pm. He was 21 years old.

Cause for Sainthood

In June 2000, the cause for beatification was opened and on July 5, 2013, Pope Francis declared him venerable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Onofrio, Nicola 1943 births 1964 deaths Camillians People from Chieti Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis 20th-century Roman Catholics