Giuseppe Marrazzo

After his ordination, Father Giuseppe Marrazzo began his ministry within the Antonian Secretariats of Santa Lucia del Mela and Trani. His mission then consisted of propagating devotion to Saint Anthony of Padua, the congregation's principal patron, and managing correspondence with benefactors.

In 1948, he was transferred to the Saint Anthony Sanctuary in Messina, where he dedicated himself in a privileged way to the sacrament of Reconciliation, taking Saint Leopold Mandić as his spiritual model. In 1956, his superiors sent him to Padua as a spiritual director and vocation animator. Although obedient, he deeply aspired to return to Messina, which he did the following year, in 1957.

In 1972, he was appointed to Zagarolo, near Rome, as vice-superior of the novitiate house and parish priest of the Madonna della Fiducia parish. There, he distinguished himself by his devotion to the sick and the elderly, actively involving young people in this pastoral care of charity. In 1974, he returned permanently to the Saint Anthony Sanctuary in Messina. Nicknamed the "priest of the people" (prete del popolo), he spent long hours in the confessional, welcoming the faithful, the poor, the sick, and those in difficulty with patience and gentleness.

On November 30, 1992, he was found dead in his bed, a victim of cardiac arrest, at the Rogationist motherhouse in Messina.

From the moment his death was announced, a reputation for holiness spread rapidly among the population of Messina, who exclaimed: "A saint has died!".

The cause of canonization was officially introduced in 2002. The diocesan phase of the inquiry began on May 5, 2008, after obtaining the nihil obstat decree on February 22, 2007. This diocesan inquiry was closed on May 9, 2015, and its legal validity was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on September 14, 2016. The Positio was published in 2018. After the favorable examination by the theological consultants on October 23, 2023, and then by the cardinals and bishops on November 7, 2023, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on November 8, 2023.

Father Giuseppe Marrazzo is currently declared Venerable. The decree on the heroic nature of his virtues was signed by Pope Francis on November 8, 2023.

On May 9, 2014, his mortal remains were transferred from the cemetery of Messina to the Sanctuary of Saint Anthony of Padua in Messina. His remains now rest in the tomb that had initially housed the body of the founder of the congregation, Saint Annibale Maria Di Francia. For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession by the Holy See is required.

The spiritual life of the Venerable Giuseppe Marrazzo was deeply rooted in the love of the Eucharist and a tender devotion to the Virgin Mary, particularly under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

He developed and deepened the theological concept of "priestly maternity" or "spiritual maternity." According to his thought, women are called to stand spiritually beside the priest in the image of the Virgin Mary, exercising a role of maternal support for his sanctification and ministry. His legacy endures today through the "Associazione Amici di Padre Marrazzo" and the fervor of the pilgrims who continue to gather at his tomb in Messina.