Francesco Caruso

The priestly life of Father Francesco Caruso was marked by tireless pastoral dedication and constant attention to the most destitute. In 1909, he was appointed parish priest of Sellia Superiore, a rural parish where he devoted himself fully to evangelization and to the material and spiritual support of the peasants. In October 1912, his bishop called him to Catanzaro to become the rector of the diocesan seminary. He invested all his energy in the human, intellectual, and spiritual formation of future priests. In 1916, while retaining his position at the seminary, he accepted responsibility for the small parish of San Nicola Coracitano (known as the parish of the Stella). In 1919, he was appointed spiritual director of the Catanzaro seminary. In 1923, health problems forced him to resign from his parish duties. He was then appointed penitentiary canon of the Cathedral of Catanzaro. It was in this ministry of reconciliation that he would demonstrate the full measure of his apostolic zeal. Spending long hours in the confessional, he became the sought-after spiritual guide for many priests, seminarians, and laypeople, which earned him the nickname of "hero of the confessional" (eroe del confessionale). On November 21, 1923, he founded the Dominican Third Order in Catanzaro and Gasperina, which brought together many laypeople eager to commit themselves to spiritual and social life. Concerned for the fate of the weakest, he also founded the Casa dei Sacri Cuori di Gesù e di Maria (House of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary) to welcome and educate orphans. After the Second World War, he provided spiritual direction to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. In September 1949, his declining health forced him to retire to his native village of Gasperina, where he passed away on the morning of October 18, 1951.

The reputation for holiness of Father Francesco Caruso, already vibrant during his lifetime, continued to grow after his death. On September 13, 1998, the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace officially opened his cause for beatification and canonization. After the conclusion of the diocesan inquiry, the Positio on his life and virtues was transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. On May 5, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him Venerable.

As a Venerable, the journey of Francesco Caruso toward beatification requires the official recognition by the Holy See of a miracle obtained through his intercession. To this day, no beatification has yet taken place, and the cause is following its course under the direction of the diocesan postulation.

The spirituality of Father Francesco Caruso rests on an intimate union with Christ, nourished by daily adoration of the Eucharist and a deep Marian devotion. He never parted with his rosary, which he considered his strength in his daily ministry. His life program was contained in his motto, inscribed from his ordination in his spiritual journal: "Solo Dio e le anime" (Only God and souls). He lived his priesthood in a spirit of poverty, absolute obedience to his successive bishops, and joyful immolation for the sanctification of priests. On November 28, 1974, his mortal remains were transferred from Gasperina to the parish church of his native village, where the faithful continue to come to pray and ask for his intercession.