Antonio Franco
Italian Roman Catholic bishop and blessed
Feast: 2 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Antonio Franco was born in Naples on 26 September 1585 to a well-off, devout family, and graduated in civil and canon law at seventeen. After ordination he became a court chaplain to the King of Spain in Madrid.
In 1617 he was named Prelate of Santa Lucia del Mela in Sicily, where he gave himself to the care of souls and to charity to the poor and sick, fought usury and rebuilt the cathedral with his own fortune.
The miracles
A miracle obtained through his intercession was recognised by decree on 20 December 2012. The biography also attributes to him the unexplained healing of a woman from stomach cancer.
Why that counted as sanctity
A prelate who spent his fortune and himself on his people, the poor and the sick.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Antonio Franco
- Wikidata Q3619607 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Antonio Franco (blessed) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.