Mystery of disappearing 3.5 ton underwater statue off Italian coast The strange disappearance of the statue has had one unexpected upside. A group of local divers who went to investigate the site chanced upon the wreck of a 49ft-long ship, which is thought to be hundreds of years old. St Francis was a mendicant friar who was born in the town of Paola, after which he is named, in 1416. He spent six years of his life living in a sea cave on the nearby coast, devoting himself to prayer. He was made the patron saint of Calabria by Pope John XXIII in 1963.