Nicola Antonio Columbro

Father Isaiah Columbro dedicated his entire priestly and religious life to the service of the Order of Friars Minor within the province of Sannio and Irpinia. He resided primarily at the convent of the Santissima Annunziata in Vitulano (for nearly sixty years) and at the convent of the Madonna delle Grazie in Benevento (from 1953 to 1968). During his long ministry, he assumed numerous responsibilities with humility and devotion: he was successively vice-master and then master of novices and clerics, guardian (superior) of the community, vice-pastor, and pastor. However, it was through the sacrament of Reconciliation and the ministry of listening that he left his deepest mark. An indefatigable confessor, he spent long hours in the confessional to welcome the penitents who flocked from all over Campania. He also exercised the ministry of exorcist. In 1953, he met Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) in person, who strongly encouraged him in his mission of unconditional welcome for souls. Nicknamed by the faithful the "friar of welcome" (frate dell'accoglienza) and described by his bishop as a "magnet for God" (calamita di Dio), he distinguished himself by his boundless charity, regularly visiting the sick at the hospital in Benevento and in their homes to bring them the comfort of the sacraments. Affected by the limitations of age and illness, he had to reduce his external activities but intensified his life of prayer and intercession in his cell. On the evening of July 13, 2004, while in prayer in his cell at the Vitulano convent, he passed away peacefully at the age of 96.

The reputation for holiness of Father Isaiah, already very vivid during his lifetime, spread even more after his death. Faced with this surge of popular devotion, the Archdiocese of Benevento officially opened the diocesan inquiry into his life, virtues, and reputation for holiness on July 13, 2014, the tenth anniversary of his passing. This diocesan phase concluded on May 21, 2016, in the Basilica of the Santissima Annunziata in Vitulano, under the presidency of the Archbishop of Benevento, Mgr. Andrea Mugione. The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints legally validated the inquiry on December 15, 2016. The Positio on his heroic virtues was subsequently drafted and submitted for examination to the Congress of Theological Consultors on February 7, 2023. The cardinals and bishops who are members of the Dicastery confirmed the heroic nature of his virtues during the ordinary session on June 18, 2024.

On June 20, 2024, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Isaia Columbro, thereby officially declaring him "Venerable." To give thanks for this decree, a solemn Mass was celebrated on July 14, 2024, in the Basilica of the Madonna delle Grazie in Benevento, presided over by Cardinal Semeraro, in the presence of numerous faithful and local authorities. The cause for beatification is now awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession.

The spirituality of the Venerable Isaiah Columbro is deeply rooted in the ideal of poverty, humility, and simplicity of Saint Francis of Assisi. His two great spiritual pillars are the love of the Eucharist and a tender devotion to the Virgin Mary. His legacy remains alive in the Vitulanese valley and beyond. In Foglianise, his hometown, a school bears his name (the secondary educational institution Istituto Comprensivo Padre Isaia Columbro). Furthermore, during the traditional "Festa del Grano" (Wheat Festival) of August 2024 in Foglianise, an artistically braided wheat float was dedicated to him to celebrate his declaration of venerability. Although he does not yet have an official liturgical feast as a venerable, his memory is celebrated locally each year on July 13, the anniversary of his birth into heaven.