Giovanni Didonè
Xaverian missionary priest, martyr in the Congo
Who they were
Giovanni Didonè was born at Rosà, near Vicenza in Italy, on 18 March 1930, entered the Xaverian Missionaries in 1950, made temporary vows on 12 October 1951 and perpetual vows on 5 November 1954. Ordained priest on 9 November 1958, he was sent to Baraka and then as first parish priest to Fizi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was killed on 28 November 1964; Pope Francis beatified him on 18 August 2024.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
He was killed at Fizi, the parish he had been the first to serve.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 116 (2024), p. 1182 - decree on martyrdom
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatifications of 18 August 2024
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.