Antonio Palladino

Influenced by the social doctrine of the Church and the encyclical Rerum Novarum, Father Antonio Palladino committed himself to the workers and peasants of Cerignola. Nicknamed "the Don Bosco of Cerignola," he founded the "Ricreatorio Festivo Don Bosco" on December 8, 1908, and the "San Luigi Gonzaga" circle. On April 10, 1909, he became the first parish priest of the San Domenico parish, located in very precarious neighborhoods. There, he founded more than thirty associations. Admitted into the Dominican Third Order on August 27, 1917, under the name "fra' Raimondo," he laid the foundations in 1923 for the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, officially approved on October 19, 1927, under the leadership of his collaborators Tarcisia and Maria Angela Vasciaveo. He also created the Pia Opera del Buon Consiglio (1921), the Cassa Rurale San Domenico (February 7, 1922) to fight against usury, and the monthly bulletin La Fiaccola (August 4, 1921). He participated in the founding of the Italian People's Party in the province of Foggia (1919-1920) and collaborated with the newspaper "La Vedetta."

From his death in 1926, Bishop Giovanni Sodo collected testimonies. The official process began on March 7, 1992, at the request of Mother Tarcisia Ippolito, O.P. Bishop Giovan Battista Pichierri launched the historical research on November 10, 1992. After the favorable opinion of the Apulian Episcopal Conference (October 9, 1993) and the Nihil Obstat from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (August 18, 1994), the diocesan inquiry opened on October 4, 1995, and closed on May 14, 1999. Validated on October 6, 2000, the inquiry was supplemented by an additional procedure opened by Bishop Felice di Molfetta on November 11, 2003 (closed on May 14, 2004, and validated on February 24, 2007). The Positio was submitted in 2009. On December 10, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the decree recognizing his heroic virtues, declaring him Venerable.

Currently recognized as Venerable, the beatification of Antonio Palladino requires the recognition of a miracle. Initially buried in the cemetery of Cerignola on May 18, 1926, his remains were transferred in 1948 to the Pia Opera del Buon Consiglio, and then on May 15, 2019, to the parish church of San Domenico. In November 2025, Bishop Fabio Ciollaro opened a "Palladinian Year" until November 10, 2026, to prepare for the centenary of his death. On May 15, 2026, a solemn mass was presided over in the cathedral of Cerignola by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, to commemorate this centenary.

The spirituality of Antonio Palladino is based on the love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Virgin of Good Counsel. His pastoral motto expresses his total offering: "All the souls entrusted to me, I will lead them all to You, and my life will be nothing but a holocaust for You." Anticipating the active role of the laity well before Vatican II, he closely associated them with parish life. His legacy is perpetuated today by the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, which continues its educational and charitable activities in Italy and abroad, as well as by the Pia Opera del Buon Consiglio.