Placido Cortese (Nicolò Cortese)
Conventual Franciscan priest who ran a rescue network in Padua and died in Gestapo custody
Who they were
Cortese directed the Messaggero di Sant'Antonio at Padua and organised help for Jews, escaped Allied soldiers and others in hiding; he was seized on 8 October 1944 and died in Trieste.
The miracles
No miracle has been approved. The decree on heroic virtues has been promulgated; a miracle would come next.
Why that counted as sanctity
His cause, first framed as martyrdom, was redirected to heroic virtues in 2012, and Pope Francis authorised the decree declaring him Venerable on 30 August 2021.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Checked against the sources listed on 24 September 2026. Corrections welcome.