Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph
Roman Catholic saint
Feast: 7 February (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Francesco Antonio Pontillo was born at Taranto on 16 November 1729 and knew poverty from childhood; he learned his parents' hard trades as a ropemaker and felt-worker.
As Brother Egidio Maria of St Joseph, an Alcantarine Franciscan, he was sent to Naples, where every day he begged alms in the streets with great humility and gave words of comfort in return. Nobles and scholars loved to talk with this friar of simple speech steeped in faith.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A ropemaker turned begging friar who brought consolation to the streets of Naples.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Egidio Maria di San Giuseppe
- Wikidata Q252945 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Egidio Maria of Saint Joseph (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.