Francesco Zirano

For several years, Father Francesco Zirano exercised his priestly ministry at the convent of Sassari, distinguishing himself by his fraternal charity, his humility, and his dedication as procurator and questor for the community. In 1590, a dramatic event changed his life: his first cousin and fellow Franciscan, Francesco Serra, was captured during a raid by Turkish corsairs in Sardinia and taken to Algiers to be sold as a slave. Deeply affected by his cousin's fate and by the distress of thousands of Christians enslaved in North Africa, Francesco Zirano prayed and spent eight years maturing the plan to go and deliver him. To raise the sum necessary for the ransom, he sought authorization from the Holy See. On March 19, 1599, Pope Clement VIII granted him, by papal bull, the faculty to collect funds throughout Sardinia for three years in order to redeem Christian captives, and particularly his cousin. After three years of an itinerant and exhausting quest across the island, he managed to gather the required sum. On July 28, 1602, he embarked for North Africa. He traveled in the company of Father Mateo de Aguirre, an emissary of King Philip III of Spain sent to the King of Cuco (Sid Amar), a kingdom in Kabylia then allied with the Spanish against the Turkish Regency of Algiers. Arriving in Algiers on August 21, 1602, Francesco Zirano found himself plunged into a climate of extreme political and military tension. Despite these major difficulties, he managed to negotiate and obtain the release of four Christian slaves.

As war broke out between Algiers and the Kingdom of Kuku, Francesco Zirano was tasked with returning to Spain to deliver messages to King Philip III. However, on January 1, 1603, he was betrayed by the Moors accompanying him. Captured by Algerian soldiers, he was taken to Algiers in chains. The Pasha of Algiers, Soliman (a renegade of Sicilian origin), threw him into prison and set his ransom at the exorbitant sum of 3,000 gold ducats. During his captivity, Father Zirano received secret visits from his cousin Francesco Serra, who was also still a slave, and worked to comfort and encourage the other Christian prisoners. The Grand Council of Algiers, refusing the option of ransom, accused him of espionage on behalf of Spain and of facilitating the escape of slaves. He was sentenced to death. His jailers promised him his life and freedom if he would agree to renounce his Christian faith and embrace Islam. Francesco Zirano categorically refused, declaring: "I am a Christian and a religious of my father Saint Francis, and it is as such that I wish to die; and I pray to God to enlighten you so that you may come to know Him." On January 25, 1603, he suffered a martyrdom of extreme cruelty: he was flayed alive in the streets of Algiers. His skin, torn off and stuffed with straw, was hung from one of the city gates (the Bab Azoun gate) as a warning to Christians. During his ordeal, he never ceased to pray and confess his faith. After his death, Christian slaves managed to secretly collect his remains and his skin to preserve them as precious relics. His cousin Francesco Serra would eventually be freed some time after this sacrifice.

The cause for the beatification of Francesco Zirano was introduced as early as the 18th century, in 1731, but experienced long interruptions. It was actively revived starting in 1977 thanks to the in-depth research of the Franciscan historian Umberto Zucca in Italian and Spanish archives. The diocesan process took place in Sassari between 1984 and 1990. On February 7, 2014, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the martyrdom of Francesco Zirano, killed in hatred of the faith (in odium fidei). The beatification ceremony was celebrated on October 12, 2014, at the Piazza Antonio Segni in Sassari, Sardinia. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis, in the presence of a large crowd and the Archbishop of Sassari, Mgr. Paolo Atzei. Francesco Zirano is thus the first Sardinian martyr of the modern era to be raised to the honors of the altar.

The spirituality of Blessed Francesco Zirano is deeply rooted in the Franciscan charism of poverty, humility, and active fraternal charity. His ultimate sacrifice stems directly from his love for Christ and his refusal to compromise his faith, but also from his heroic commitment to the freedom and human dignity of those who were deprived of their liberty. Today, the Church proposes Blessed Francesco Zirano as a model of solidarity and evangelical fidelity. Because of his ministry to captives, he is proposed as the patron and protector of kidnapped persons, victims of modern slavery, and migrants who cross deserts and seas in search of freedom. In Sassari, his memory is particularly vivid at the convent of Santa Maria di Betlem, where a chapel is dedicated to him. Each year, during his liturgical feast, the traditional rite of lighting the votive lamp next to his altar is renewed by the various parishes of the diocese.