Sanctuary of St. Francis of Paola

The Story

The Sanctuary of St. Francis of Paola rises against a wooded hillside above the town of Paola, on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria in southern Italy. Founded by the saint himself in the fifteenth century, the complex includes the original basilica, the hermit's cave where he first lived, a frescoed cloister, and a large modern church added in 2000. Francis was born in Paola in 1416 and as a very young man withdrew to live as a hermit near his native town. Disciples gathered, and from them grew the Order of Minims — the 'least ones' — approved by the Holy See in the fifteenth century and marked by deep humility and a perpetual Lenten way of life. Tradition attributes many miracles to Francis, including the famous account of his crossing the Strait of Messina on his spread cloak. Renowned throughout Europe, he was summoned to France in 1483 to attend the dying King Louis XI, and he spent his final decades there, dying at Plessis-lez-Tours on Good Friday, 1507. He was canonized by Pope Leo X in 1519. In 1562 Huguenot soldiers desecrated his tomb at Tours and burned his body; surviving relics were recovered by the faithful, and portions were returned to Paola, where they are venerated in the sanctuary today. St. Francis of Paola is honored as patron of Calabria, and in 1943 Pope Pius XII declared him patron of Italian seafarers. Pilgrims continue to climb from the town to the sanctuary along the Isca stream, following a path of devotion that has endured for five centuries.

Church Recognition

St. Francis of Paola was canonized by Pope Leo X in 1519; the sanctuary at Paola, served by his Order of Minims, preserves his surviving relics, and Pope Pius XII declared him patron of Italian seafarers in 1943.

Catholic Teaching

The sanctuary reflects the Church's veneration of relics (CCC 1674) and its esteem for penance and humility as paths of conversion (CCC 1434–1439), virtues that shaped St. Francis of Paola's Order of Minims.

Plan Your Visit

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Practical

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Pilgrims visit the old basilica with the saint's relic chapel, the cave where he lived as a hermit, the frescoed cloister, and the large new church. Celebrations peak around his feast on April 2 and during the town's spring festivities in his honor.

Go Deeper

The Order of Minims, which serves the sanctuary at Paola, provides resources on the saint's life and spirituality; see also Butler's Lives of the Saints for April 2, and the Catechism on the veneration of relics and popular piety (CCC 1674).