{"id":77219,"date":"2025-01-13T13:37:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T12:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/italia-copertino-chiusura-della-fase-diocesana-del-processo-di-beatificazione-del-servo-di-dio-fra-egidio-m-merola\/"},"modified":"2025-01-13T20:08:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T19:08:23","slug":"italia-copertino-chiusura-della-fase-diocesana-del-processo-di-beatificazione-del-servo-di-dio-fra-egidio-m-merola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/italia-copertino-chiusura-della-fase-diocesana-del-processo-di-beatificazione-del-servo-di-dio-fra-egidio-m-merola\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy-Copertino: Closing of the Diocesan Phase of the Beatification Process of the Servant of God Friar Egidio M. MEROLA"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, the Most Reverend Fernando Tarcisio FILOGRANA, Bishop of Nard\u00f2-Gallipoli, Italy, concluded the second session of the diocesan phase of the beatification process for the Servant of God, Friar Egidio Maria Merola. This phase began on April 30, 2021. The session concluded at the Shrine of St. Joseph of Cupertino located in the town of Copertino, in Italy\u2019s Puglia Region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Others present at the ceremony included the Most Reverend Giuseppe PIEMONTESE, Bishop Emeritus of Terni-Narni-Amelia, who previously served as Minister Provincial of the former Province of St. Nicholas and St. Angelo in Italy (Puglia), along with the Delegate who presided over the process, Father Giuseppe PICA; the Promoter of Justice, Father Salvatore MARULLI; the notary, Dr. Gianni Luca POLO; and the Vice-Postulator, Friar Donato GRILLI. Bishop FILOGRANA sealed the documents that will be sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to continue the process in its phase in Rome for the recognition of venerability.
\nFriar Egidio was a true Franciscan known for his simplicity and dedication to others in daily life. It is said that everyone in Copertino knew him\u2015even those too young to have met him had heard stories about him. On the day of his funeral, a large crowd gathered, moved yet grateful to have encountered a friar who spoke of God through his silence and manifested God\u2019s beauty through his actions\u2014whether in the confessional or by bringing Communion to the sick. He was almost unaware of the greatness of his deeds and character! These are the great ones of the Gospel, the little ones, as Jesus says. His life gave silent but eloquent witness; it was not shouted; but was lived in the ordinariness of every day.
\nFriar Egidio Maria was born \u201cGiuseppe\u201d in Barra (Naples) on May 1, 1906. After becoming a friar, he lived his life almost entirely in Copertino, except for a short period at Monte Sant\u2019Angelo in the Italian Province of Foggia. In Copertino, he worked diligently at the shrine, spending countless hours listening to the faithful who sought him out. He also went on foot to bring the Lord\u2019s comfort to the elderly and sick. Among his achievements was reclaiming the Santa Maria della Grottella Shrine and returning it to the friars\u2014a feat considered almost miraculous. After Italy\u2019s unification, this shrine had fallen into private hands. But after much insistence, the owners eventually sold it back to the friars thanks to Friar Egidio\u2019s faith in God and his ability to gather the necessary funds.
\nFriar Egidio was small in stature and often hunched over, with a mature face, even when young, that projected serenity and inspired trust; his meekness and sweetness shone through in his gaze, as did his profound depth. He maintained a discreet presence that often went unnoticed and yet he was always there! Anyone who met him felt welcomed; he famously kept a small notebook where he recorded the names of those who requested prayers. His was a beautiful life because he found joy in being a friar and serving others. He died in Copertino on January 6, 2002.
\nOn April 30, 2024, his body was transferred to the St. Joseph of Cupertino Shrine, specifically to the area where he lived for many years.
\nCopertino is a holy city because St. Joseph and Friar Egidio both demonstrate that being saints is not impossible; it is a journey that everyone can undertake. Let us begin!<\/p>\n

Friar Donato GRILLI, Vice-Postulator<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, the Most Reverend Fernando Tarcisio FILOGRANA, Bishop of Nard\u00f2-Gallipoli, Italy, concluded the second session of the diocesan phase of the beatification process for the Servant of God, Friar Egidio Maria Merola. This phase began on April 30, 2021. The session concluded at the Shrine of St. Joseph of Cupertino located […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77192,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,117,148],"tags":[2983,1487,1488],"class_list":["post-77219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-federations","category-fimp-en","category-news","tag-egidio-m-merola-ofmconv-en","tag-italia-puglia-en","tag-italy-puglia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}