Giuseppe Marcinò (24 October 1589 – 16 November 1655) was an Italian priest and a member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

- or Capuchins. After he was admitted into the order he selected the new name of "Innocenzo from Caltagirone". He was well known for his frequent and often sensational predications and miracles attributed to him since 1623. Due to this he was granted the moniker of "The Miracle Worker of the Earth". He was declared to be

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

in 2009 after the recognition of his life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

. A miracle required for him to be beatified is now under investigation and must receive papal approval before beatification can take place.

Life

Giuseppe Marcinò was born in

Caltagirone Caltagirone (; scn, Caltaggiruni ; Latin: ''Calata Hieronis'') is an inland city and ''comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administ ...

on 24 October 1859 to Pietro Marcinò and Laura Barone. He studied in a school that the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

ran and finished his studies in 1607 at the time he entered the novitiate of the

. He change his name to "Innocenzo from Caltagirone" after his formal profession as a member of the order. He continued his studies in both philosophical and theological studies in the monasteries of places such as

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was there in 1613 that he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood. He studied

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

after this until 1615 and returned to his home to teach Hebrew at a high school. He taught theological studies from 1619 until a decade later at Capuchin institutions. He also preached Lenten retreats. He served as the first Minister Provincial of the Capuchin order from 1635 to 1638 in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

and later in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

from 1638 to 1640. He was then transferred in the same post in

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

from 1642 until 1643 when he was selected as the Minister General of the order. He visited all institutions as part of his new role.

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

- in 1647 - dispatched him to the monarchs of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to restore peace between the two but it was something that turned out as unsuccessful. He returned home after this where he died on 16 November 1655. The place of burial soon became a pilgrimage site for those who requested his intercession with

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

Beatification process

The beatification process commenced at the behest of the order on 26 September 1890 under

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in a local process that ensured until 30 October 1892 and bestowed upon him the posthumous title

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

. The second local process saw the continuation of the assemblage of documentation and spanned from 1920 until 1922; the two processes were both ratified in 1992 in order for the cause to proceed to the next phase. The

Positio In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint. Des ...

- documentation on his life of

and an account of his life - were submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

in 1995.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

approved this and declared him to be

on 3 April 2009. The miracle for his beatification was investigated and received ratification to confirm that it was a valid process on 19 December 2008.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNFather Innocent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcino, Giuseppe 1589 births 1655 deaths 17th-century venerated Christians Capuchins Venerated Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI People from Caltagirone Miracle workers Religious leaders from the Province of Catania