Gaetana Tolomeo
The Vatican record
- 6 April 2019 — Heroic virtue declared — title Venerable (decree list, 2019)
- 29 September 2020 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2020)
Who they were
Gaetana Tolomeo, called Nuccia, was born in Catanzaro, Calabria, on 10 April 1936. From early childhood a progressive, deforming paralysis kept her in bed or in a chair for her whole life.
From her sickbed she became a point of prayer and counsel for many people who came to see her. She died on 24 January 1997.
The miracles
a pregnant woman and her baby — Catanzaro, Italy — 2014
An ultrasound showed the embryo implanted in the cervical canal, an ectopic pregnancy. The mother was urged several times to end the pregnancy but chose to continue. A later scan showed the baby in the normal place in the womb and growing normally, and a perfectly healthy child was born by Caesarean section.
One more approved miracle is needed for canonisation.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of a pregnant woman and her baby was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 29 September 2020, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 3 October 2021 by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, for Pope Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - Gaetana (Nuccia) Tolomeo
- Vatican News (Italian), Oct 2021 - beatification at Catanzaro
- Wikipedia - Gaetana Tolomeo
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q63087485 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Gaetana Tolomeo (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.