Francesco Mottola
Italian Roman Catholic priest, founder and blessed (1901–1969)
Feast: 13 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 2 October 2019 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2019)
- 19 January 2023 — Heroic virtue declared — title Venerable (decree list, 2023)
Who they were
Francesco Mottola was born in Tropea, Calabria, on 3 January 1901, into a noble but impoverished family. His childhood was scarred by his mother's suicide and later by the early death of a brother. Ordained in 1924, he became rector of the seminary in Tropea, a writer, confessor and spiritual director.
He founded the secular institute of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart and many works of charity for the sick and poor. At 41 he was struck by paralysis and lost his speech, but went on with his ministry, accepting the cross. He died on 29 June 1969.
The miracles
A priest — Tropea, Italy — May 2010
From 2008 a priest suffered pain in the lower urinary tract and could not empty his bladder; after many tests and treatments he relied on an electrical nerve stimulator. He prayed with great trust to Venerable Francesco Mottola. In the night of 13 to 14 May 2010 his bladder suddenly began to work normally again and he never needed the stimulator again, which later checks confirmed. On 21 February 2019 the Vatican's medical board found the healing rapid, complete, lasting and inexplicable.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of a priest was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 2 October 2019, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on October 2021.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography of Blessed Francesco Mottola, with the miracle
- Vatican News, Oct 2021 - Don Mottola beatified
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q3750332 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Francesco Mottola (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.