Vicenç Romano
Italian priest (1751-1831)
Feast: 20 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 6 March 2018 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2018)
Who they were
Vincenzo Romano was born in Torre del Greco, near Naples, on 3 June 1751, to a large family of modest means, and ordained in Naples on 10 June 1775. On weekdays he taught the children of ordinary families in his own home.
As parish priest of Santa Croce in Torre del Greco for more than thirty years, he rebuilt the church with his people's help, working alongside them; they called him 'o prèvete fatigatore', the hard-working priest. He cared especially for workers and fishermen. After breaking his thigh on New Year's Day 1825 he never recovered, and died of pneumonia on 20 December 1831.
The miracles
Raimondo Formisano — Torre del Greco, Italy — 1989
A man from Torre del Greco was diagnosed in February 1989 with a malignant tumour at the back of the abdomen. The chemotherapy he received was judged by the Vatican's medical experts to be inadequate, and he had always refused to go into hospital or have surgery. Deeply devoted to Blessed Vincenzo, he and his whole family prayed for his healing, and he recovered.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of Raimondo Formisano was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 6 March 2018, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 14 October 2018 by Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography of St Vincenzo Romano, with the miracle
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q4013502 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Vincent Romano (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.