Francesco Antonio was born in Taranto (Italy) on the 16th November, 1729, into a poor but very industrious and zealous family in the Christian faith. From an early age he was initiated into learning his parents' trades, and at 18, when his father died, he became the sole support of the family.
In February 1754, after having provided for the needs of the family, he was received amongst the Friars Minor Alcantarini of the Province of Lecce in the convent of Galatone, where on the 28th February, 1755 he made his religious profession, choosing the name of Egidio Mary of St Joseph. From February 1755 until the first months of 1759, he lived in the friary of Squinzano (Lecce) as the cook of the Fraternity.
After a brief stay in the friary of Capurso (Bari), at the sanctuary of the Madonna del Pozzo to which he was always very devoted, in May 1759 Br. Egidio Mary was assigned to Naples, where the Friars Minor Alcantarini of Lecce had the small hospice of San Pasquale a Chiaia, elevated to the rank of Guardian during the Chapter of 1759. Here he remained until the day of his death, that is, for about 53 years, gradually occupying the offices of cook, porter and beggar, to the edification of all, especially the poor, who flocked to the friary of Chiaia in large numbers to receive help or a word of comfort from him.
With Franciscan solicitude and active charity, in fact, he devoted all his energies to the service of the least and the suffering, inserting himself deeply into the fabric of the Neapolitan city. Proclaiming God's love for man was the mission that Providence assigned to the humble Franciscan in that social context. In particular, the Father manifested in him his love for the excluded and forgotten.
Countless were the miracles that accompanied the mission of the goodness and serenity of Br. Egidio Mary of St Joseph, to the point of earning him the popular nickname of "Comforter of Naples" during his lifetime. To those who met him in his wanderings through the streets of Naples, he used to repeat: "Love God, love God". The sick found consolation in suffering, welcoming him joyfully at their bedside; the poor, the marginalised, and the exploited discovered in the humble beggar the merciful face of God's love; the nobles and the educated loved to converse with this friar with a simple word imbued with faith.
Like St Francis of Assisi, he lived in full adherence to the Gospel, not desiring what gives honour and prestige, but preferring humble and hidden things and being concerned above all to possess the spirit of the Lord and to act always according to His will.
His life was also contemplative. His prolonged nocturnal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, his tender devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, his love for the Redeemer's Nativity, his particular devotion to St. Joseph and St. Paschal Baylon: thanks to all this, Egidio Mary was able to see the suffering and misery of his brothers and sisters, to which he responded with a wealth of charity and tenderness.
Surrounded by a vast reputation for holiness, Giles Mary left earthly life at 12:00 noon on the 7th February, 1812, while the bells of the small Franciscan church rang the Angelus.
Pius IX declared his heroic virtues on the 24th February, 1868, Leo XIII declared him Blessed on the 5th February, 1888, John Paul II elevated him to the supreme honours of the altars on the 2nd June, 1996.
His body is preserved in the church of San Pasquale a Chiaia in Naples.
Cf. Friars Minor Saints and Blesseds, edited by Br. Silvano Bracci, OFM and Sr. Antonietta Pozzebon, FMSC. Editrice Velar, 2009, pp. 338-340.