Vincent Romano

Blessed Vincent Romano (3 June 1751 - 20 December 1831), born Vincenzo Dominico Romano, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest born in Torre del Greco in Naples. Romano was a parish priest of the village of Herulano who was noted for his very simple way of life and for his great care of orphans. He was oppressed by French invaders in his area, and also by some of the Italian political groups.
The people of Torre del Greco granted him the nickname "The Worker Priest" due to Romano's tireless work with the poor and for his commitment to the social needs of all people in the Neapolitan region.
Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1963 after the recognition of his saintly life as well as the confirmation of two miracles attributed to his intercession. A third is currently under investigation and is required for him to be canonized.

Vincenzo Romano was born on 3 June 1751 to Nicola Luca and Maria Grazia Rivieccio - poor parents in Naples. He studied the writings of Saint Alphonsus de' Ligouri and he developed a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament as a child.

His vocation for becoming part of the religious life matured at the time he was fourteen due to the education on the part of Father Agostino Scognamiglio.

He commenced his studies for the priesthood in Naples at the age of fourteen and was ordained as a priest on 10 June 1775. During his studies for becoming a priest he had as his spiritual guide Blessed Mariano Arciero and also studied the life and teachings of Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori. He was assigned to Torre del Greco and was noted for his simple and austere life as well as his devotion to the care of orphans and work with seminarians.

Romano worked to rebuild what was damaged after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 15 June 1794 and this included re-building his church - that of Santa Croce - on his own. After the death of the parish priest in 1799 he became the provost of the parish and devoted himself to the re-building of the church. He paid careful attention to the formation of children as part of their education as well as the proclamation of the Gospel in the name of evangelization. French invaders of the area oppressed him in addition to the various Italian political groups.

Romano preached to all people and five times at the end of the week. His priest nephew - Felice Romano - stated that his uncle's preaching was simple and was aimed to educate the faithful. He was distinguished with the Crucifix he had in his hand.

Romano died on 20 December 1831 after battling a long illness. He is buried in the Church of Santa Croce.

The beatification process commenced under Pope Gregory XVI on 22 September 1843 and this gave Romano the title Servant of God. The opening of the cause saw two local diocesan processes open in Naples to gather documents for the cause and the testimonies of individuals. The processes were both ratified and sent to Rome for evaluation.

On March 25, 1895 he was declared to be Venerable after Pope Leo XIII recognized that Romano had lived a life of heroic virtue.

Two miracles were placed under the investigation of a diocesan tribunal for evaluation and both soon received papal approval. This allowed for Pope Paul VI to celebrate his beatification on 17 November 1963.

The third miracle required for his sainthood was also subject to a diocesan tribunal and shall conclude its work on 14 September 2015 in a Mass that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe shall preside over to seal the boxes of documentation prior to sending them to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for evaluation. The Congregation received the boxes of documentation from the process on 1 February 2016 which shall allow for the so-called "Roman Phase" of the process in which the miracle is placed under investigation to determine if the healing in question is indeed a miracle. The Congregation validated the diocesan process for the alleged miracle on 21 June 2016.

Miracles

The first miracle recognized was the healing of Maria Carmela Restucci in December 1891 from an aggressive tumor in the left breast that later developed into ulcers and lesions that were malignant. She invoked the patronage of Romano and during the evening discovered her tumors and lesions had all but disappeared. Her doctor - Giuseppe Dolce - confirmed the healing to be something science and medicine could not explain.

The second miracle that was recognized was the healing of Maria Carmela Cozzolino who was a professed religious but contracted - on 10 July 1940 - a serious throat ailment that worsened at a rapid pace that made both swallowing and breathing quite difficult for her. Doctor Francesco Brancaccio diagnosed it as throat cancer and refrained from prescribing treatment. Cozzolino invoked the intercession of Romano and began a novena to him. On the following 26 October the specialist Doctor Giovanni Spinetti asserted the potential for her death in a matter weeks. Cozzolino's condition worsened on 27 and 28 October but seemed to disappear in full on 29 October. Doctors evaluating this cure could not explain how such an instance occurred.