Don Giovanni Braschi

For thirty-eight years, he led the religious community devoted to Saint Philomena, virgin and martyr. He was born in Mugnano del Cardinale on 24 October 1943. From childhood, he was a great devotee of Saint Filomena, so much so that, after training in the seminary of Nola and the Regional Seminary, he was ordained a priest in 1971. The important assignment came in 1983, when the Bishop of Nola appointed him Rector of the Sanctuary of Santa Filomena. Right from the start, sustaining the new role was not at all easy, both because of the conditions in which the structure was in, and because devotion to the Saint was no longer the same. He then began a long period of work and research, intense years in which he devoted himself to restoring the Sanctuary and reading as much information as possible about Saint Philomena. He loved her history, and his endless research was undoubtedly essential for the light of devotion to be rekindled in the hearts of the faithful. He returned to the house of the Father on 26 February 2021.