Giuseppe Desa, a simple and good-natured peasant boy who lives in Cupertino, Italy, during the 17th century, loses his job as a laborer because of his ineptness. In desperation, Francesca, his mother, arranges for him to enter a Franciscan monastery run by her brother Giovanni and Father Raspi. Given the task of cleaning the abbey, the clumsy Giuseppe breaks a statue of the Madonna. Later he is placed in charge of the stable and shows a natural affinity with the animals, although the stable remains a mess. Giuseppe wins the friendship of Bishop Durso, who orders that he be trained for the priesthood. By sheer luck, he passes the first examination; and while praying before the broken Madonna, he is seen rising off the floor. Father Raspi believes that Giuseppe has become possessed by the Devil and forces him to undergo an exorcism, but the young monk rises again in spite of the chains placed on him during the ceremony. The monastery and Father Raspi then accept him as saintly, and he is later canonized by the church.