Vincenzo Romano

The ministry of Vincenzo Romano unfolded entirely in Torre del Greco, a city of coral fishermen and workers of the sea. On June 15, 1794, a violent eruption of Vesuvius poured a lava flow over the city, destroying almost all the dwellings as well as the parish church of Santa Croce, the center of religious and social life. Designated by the elderly parish priest Gennaro Falanga, the young priest took charge of the immense reconstruction project, mobilizing popular participation and working himself on the clearing and rebuilding of the edifice. Appointed parish administrator and then "preposito curato" on December 28, 1799, he directed the parish for more than thirty years. Close to the coral fishermen who were often absent for long months, concerned with the education of children and the material and spiritual support of families, he preached in the open air to gather the faithful. His zeal and incessant labor earned him from the people the nickname of "'o prevete faticatore," the hardworking priest. His pastoral motto summarized his requirement: to do good, and to do it well.

The holiness of Vincenzo Romano is rooted in daily fidelity to priestly duty rather than in extraordinary phenomena. Formed in the Neapolitan spiritual climate marked by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori and guided by Blessed Mariano Arciero, he led a sober existence, dedicating his nights to study and the preparation of his preaching, and distributing generously to the poor. His charity was exercised concretely toward the sick, children, fishing families, and all those left destitute by poverty or natural disasters. The years following his fracture in 1825, marked by immobility and suffering, were lived with patience and abandonment. To his priests, he left as a spiritual testament the invitation to live fraternal charity. His reputation for holiness, already vivid during his lifetime, led to the opening of his cause as early as 1843; Pope Leo XIII declared him venerable in 1895, recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues.

The cause for the beatification of Vincenzo Romano was introduced on September 22, 1843. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him Venerable in 1895, following the recognition of the heroic nature of his virtues. After the approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession, he was beatified in Rome by Pope Paul VI on November 17, 1963. The recognition of a second miracle paved the way for his canonization: during the consistory of May 19, 2018, Pope Francis set the date. On October 14, 2018, in Saint Peter's Square, during the same celebration as Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Oscar Romero, Pope Francis inscribed him in the catalogue of saints, along with Francesco Spinelli, Nazaria Ignazia di Santa Teresa di Gesù, Maria Caterina Kasper, and Nunzio Sulprizio. His liturgical memorial is set for December 20, the day of his death.

Vincenzo Romano remains the model of the parish priest fully committed to the service of his community, attentive to the poor, the workers, and the fishermen. His figure is closely linked to the city of Torre del Greco, whose great parish church of Santa Croce he rebuilt after the disaster of 1794; it is in this basilica that his relics rest today, a destination for pilgrimage. Pope John Paul II came to pray there on November 11, 1990. On the occasion of his canonization, Pope Francis presented him as a witness to holiness lived out in the ordinary fulfillment of the priestly ministry. Honored as a patron by the priests and pastors of the Neapolitan region, he is invoked locally as the protector of his city. His example of a laborious priesthood, close to the humble and faithful to the maxim of doing good well, continues to inspire popular devotion in the Archdiocese of Naples.