Picture: unknown artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Giovanni di Matera
Benedictine monk
SaintResearchedBenedictinesPre-congregation
Feast: 20 June (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
1070
Died
1139
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
In the monastery of San Giacomo at Foggia in Apulia, Saint John of Matera, abbot, who, outstanding for the austerity of his life and for his preaching to the people, founded on the Gargano the Congregation of Pulsano, of Benedictine observance.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 20 June as an austere abbot and preacher who founded the Benedictine Congregation of Pulsano on the Gargano.
Sources
- Roman Martyrology, 20 June (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q1154997 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John of Matera (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.