manage and which saw him work closer to the archbishop. But he still managed to go around preaching and hearing confessions despite the increased workload. Di Francia came to Messina via train during the morning on 22 December 1913 but felt unwell in the train station in what was a heart attack. He asked to go to Roccalumera despite his deteriorating condition and said: "I prepare for paradise". Di Francia died there at 9:00pm from a heart attack with the nuns of his order gathered at his bedside after he blessed them. His brother learnt about his death on 31 December from Florence and wrote a letter to the archbishop to extoll his brother's good works and to express his condolences to the archdiocese. His remains were exhumed and relocated on 24 May 1935 from his grave to the Santuario di Sant'Antonio di Padova in Roccalumera that Briguglio oversaw work on. His order received a decree of praise on 4 March 1943 and then papal approval from Pope Pius XII on 16 February 1957 and exists in countries such as Colombia and Slovakia. The end of 2008 saw the order have 224 religious in 29 houses. Beatification process The beatification process launched on 8 July 1986 after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints provided the official "nihil obstat" (no objections to the cause) declaration and titled di Francia as a Servant of God. This decree also enabled for the cause's initial investigation to be launched on the archdiocesan level. This diocesan process for the investigation was opened in the Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela archdiocese on 12 June 1989 and closed less than a decade later on 3 October 1996. The investigation saw 144 testimonies collected as well as documentation attesting to di Francia's reputation for holiness. Other processes were held in Albano and Turin as well as in Brescia and Trani for supporting evidence. The investigation moved to Rome where the C.C.S. issued a decree on 6 November 1998 validating the process and confirming that it abided to their rules for conducting diocesan investigations. The postulation (the officials coordinating the cause) compiled and submitted the official Positio dossier to the C.C.S. officials for additional evaluation on 22 December 2014. Historians approved the cause on 29 September 2015 as did nine theologians on 19 June 2018 and the C.C.S. cardinal and bishop members later on 5 March 2019. Di Francia