Filippo Smaldone
Roman Catholic saint (1848-1923)
Feast: 4 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Filippo Smaldone was born in Naples on 27 July 1848, in a family loyal to the Bourbon monarchy that fell when he was twelve. Already caring for deaf people as a student, he was ordained in Naples on 23 September 1871.
He founded the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts and devoted himself with burning zeal to the care and human and Christian formation of poor deaf and blind people.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A gentle priest who gave the deaf and the blind an education and a place in the Church.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Filippo Smaldone
- Wikidata Q1414001 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Filippo Smaldone (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.