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Padre Pio
Padre Pio
Saint
Pio of Pietrelcina
O.F.M. Cap.
25 May 1887
Pietrelcina, Benevento, Kingdom of Italy
Feast 23 September
ife[edit]
Early life[edit]
Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio
(1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a town in the province of Benevento, in the Southern
Italian region of Campania.[3] His parents were peasant farmers. [4] He was baptized in the nearby
Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle. [5] He later served as an altar boy in this
same chapel. He had an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and
Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun).[4] His parents had two other children who died in
infancy.[3] When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco. He stated that by the time he
was five years old, he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God. [3][5] He worked
on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned. [citation needed]
Pietrelcina was a town where feast days of saints were celebrated throughout the year, and the
Forgione family was deeply religious. They attended Mass daily, prayed the Rosary nightly, and
abstained from meat three days a week in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.[5] Although
Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they narrated Bible stories to their children.
According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco (who was later his spiritual director in San
Marco in Lamis) the young Francesco was afflicted with a number of illnesses. At six he suffered
from severe gastroenteritis. At ten he caught typhoid fever.[6]
Priesthood[edit]
Commencing his seven-year study for the priesthood, Fra Pio travelled to the friary of Saint Francis
of Assisi in Umbria.[5] At 17, he fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting
spells, and migraines. He vomited frequently and could digest only milk and cheese. Religious
devotees point to this time that inexplicable phenomena allegedly began to occur. During prayers for
example, Pio appeared to others to be in a stupor, as if he were absent. One of Pio's fellow friars
later claimed to have seen him in ecstasy, and allegedly levitating above the ground.[9]
In June 1905, Pio's health worsened to such an extent that his superiors decided to send him to a
mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him good. This had little impact,
however, and doctors advised that he return home. Even there his health failed to improve. Despite
this, On 27 January 1907, he still made his solemn profession.
In 1910, Pio was subsequently ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral
of Benevento. Four days later, he offered his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the
Angels. His health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family until 1916 while still
retaining the Capuchin habit.[10]
On 4 September 1916, however, Pio was ordered to return to his community life. He moved to an
agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains
in San Giovanni Rotondo in the Province of Foggia. At that time the community numbered seven
friars. He remained at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death in 1968, except for a period of military
service. In the priesthood, Padre Pio was known to perform a number of successful conversions to
Catholicism.[11]
Padre Pio celebrating Mass. His Masses would often last hours, as the mystic received visions and
experienced sufferings. Note the coverings worn on his hands to hide his stigmata.
The Saint Benedict Medal was a gift Padre Pio often gave as a present to his visitors.[74]
Stigmata[edit]
Based on Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious
indications of the visible stigmata: bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations supposedly
corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ.[76] In a 1911 letter, he wrote to his spiritual
advisor Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis, describing something he had been apparently
experiencing for a year:
Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the
palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in
the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much
so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain. [76]
Already in a letter dated March 21, 1912, to his spiritual companion and confessor, Father Agostino,
Father Pio wrote of his devotion to the mystical body of Christ and the intuition that he, Pio, one day
himself would bear the stigmata of Christ. Luzzatto points out that in this letter Father Pio uses
unrecognized passages from a book by the stigmatized mystic Gemma Galgani. Later Pio denied
knowing or owning the cited book.[77]
His close friend Padre Agostino wrote in 1915, asking specific questions, such as when he first
experienced visions, whether he had been granted the stigmata, and whether he felt the pains of
the Passion of Christ, namely the crowning of thorns and the scourging. Pio replied that he had been
favoured with visions since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). Although he had been granted the
stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He
wrote that he did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since he considered
them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation. [76]
On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Pio claimed to have had a reappearance of the
physical occurrence of the stigmata. The phenomenon was reported to have continued for fifty
years, until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the stigmata purportedly smelled of perfume or
flowers.[78] He reported to Agostino that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and
under certain circumstances. He also said that he was suffering the pain of the crown of thorns and
the scourging. He did not define the frequency of these occurrences but said that he had been
suffering from them at least once weekly for some years.[76] Though Pio said he would have preferred
to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news had begun to spread. Pio often wore red mittens or black
coverings on his hands and feet as he was embarrassed by the marks.[35] However, no visible
scarring was present at the time of Pio's death.[79]
Padre Pio showing the stigmata (detail from a photo from August 19, 1919) [80]
In a letter to Padre Benedetto, his superior and spiritual advisor from San Marco in Lamis, dated 22
October 1918, Pio described his experience of receiving the stigmata:
On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a
drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. [...] I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I
had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were
dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I
should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst
out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were
dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The
heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am
dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am
afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this
condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the
embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him
until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be
inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable
humiliation[81]....the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross. [82]
Once made public, the wounds were studied by a number of physicians, some hired by the Vatican
as part of an independent investigation. Some claimed that the wounds were unexplainable and
never seem to have become infected. [35][83] Despite seeming to heal they would then reappear
periodically.[84] Alberto Caserta took X-rays of Pio's hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the
bone structure.[85] Some critics accused Pio of faking the stigmata, for example by using carbolic
acid to make the wounds. Maria De Vito (the cousin of a local pharmacist at Foggia) testified that the
young Pio bought a little bottle of carbolic acid and four grams of veratrine in 1919.[86]
The bishop of Volterra, Raffaello Rossi considers the accusation concerning carbolic acid and
veratridine (veratrine) and he concludes: “[Padre Pio] requested carbolic acid to disinfect syringes
needed for shots, and veratridine for . . . a prank to be played during recreation!! Padre Pio had
experienced the effects of this powder mixed, in an imperceptible dose, in the tobacco offered to him
by a Brother. Without knowing anything about poisons, without even considering what veratridine
was (and that is why he asked for four grams), he requested it to repeat the joke and laugh at the
expense of some Brothers! That’s all. Instead of malice, what is revealed here is Padre Pio’s
simplicity, and his playful spirit.”[87][88]
In his 2005 book, Padre Pio and America, however, author Frank Rega claims that the acid was
actually used for: "The boys had needed injections to fight the Spanish Flu which was raging at that
time. Due to a shortage of doctors, Padres Paolino and Pio administered the shots, using carbolic
acid as a sterilizing agent.” [89]
Bishop Raffaello Rossi in his Votum on Padre Pio of Pietrelcina in 1921 adds: "To summarize, what I
believe can be certainly affirmed today is that the stigmata at issue are not a work of the devil, nor a
gross deceit, a fraud, the trick of a devious and malicious person. I would like to add that his
“stigmata” do not seem to me a morbid product of external suggestion." [90]
Healing[edit]
In the 1999 book, Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker, a segment by Irish priest Malachy Gerard Carroll
describes the story of Gemma de Giorgi, a Sicilian girl whose blindness was believed to have been
cured during a visit to Padre Pio.[91] Gemma, who was brought to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1947 by
her grandmother, was born without pupils. During her trip to see Padre Pio, the little girl began to
see objects, including a steamboat and the sea.[91][92] Gemma's grandmother did not believe the child
had been healed. After Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio for grace during her confession, her
grandmother implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight. [91] Padre Pio told her, "The child
must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees." [91]
Apparitions[edit]
During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the devil,
both physically and spiritually. [16] His followers also believe that the devil used diabolical tricks in
order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the
alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this
when he said:
Now, twenty-two days have passed since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My
Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our
enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh.
[93]
Padre Pio reported engaging in physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents
described concerning St. John Vianney, from which he was said to have sustained extensive
bruising.
On the day of Padre Pio's death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de
Bianchini from Venezuela reported that he appeared to her in a vision and said, "I have come to say
good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn."[94][95][96] Her husband saw his wife's face transfigured into
that of Padre Pio.[95] On the following day, they learned that Padre Pio had died. [94][96] Witnesses say
they later saw Esperanza levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation. [96] Padre Domenico da
Cese, a fellow Capuchin stigmatist, reported that on 22 September 1968, he saw Padre Pio kneeling
in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio had not left his
room.[97]
Transverberation[edit]
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World War I continued and in July 1918, Pope Benedict XV, who had termed the World War "the
suicide of Europe," appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On
27 July of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed
and between 5 and 7 August, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side. [4]
[13]
As a result, Padre Pio claimed to have received a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is
considered as a transverberation or "piercing of the heart", indicating the union of love with God
within Christian mysticism.
Many books about Padre Pio included a third-class relic (cloth) on a prayer card. This relic was encased when
he was considered "Venerable," but has since been canonized.
Sculpture of Padre Pio with Jesus on the cross in Prato, Italy
The occasion of transverberation coincided with a seven-week-long period of spiritual unrest for
Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:
During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping
and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him.[4]
In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his
experiences during the transverberation:
While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly
terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his
hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the
very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I
cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer
had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot
tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured
by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in
the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony. [81]
On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Pio
was in "profound peace."[4] On that day, as he was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of
Our Lady of Grace, he received another celestial vision which led to religious ecstasy. When the
ecstasy ended, Padre Pio claimed to have received the visible stigmata. This time, it allegedly
stayed visible for the next fifty years of his life, only disappearing in the last few weeks of his life,
leaving no trace on his skin.[13]
Prophecy[edit]
In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II) visited Padre Pio, who heard his
confession. Austrian Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this
meeting, Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the church though
further confirmation is needed."[98] Stickler said that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled
when he became a cardinal.[99] John Paul's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction,
[100]
while George Weigel's biography Witness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit,
does not mention it.
According to tradition,[101] Bishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him to pray for Wanda
Poltawska, a friend in Poland who was suffering from cancer. Later, Poltawska's cancer was
apparently found to be in spontaneous remission. Medical professionals were seemingly unable to
offer an explanation for the phenomenon.[102]
Rehabilitation[edit]
By 1933, the tide began to turn. Pope Pius XI ordered a reversal of the ban on Padre Pio's public
celebration of Mass, arguing, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been
badly informed."[13] In 1934, the friar was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given
honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching license. Pope
Pius XII, who assumed the papacy in 1939, even encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio.
Finally, in the mid-1960s Pope Paul VI (pope from 1963 to 1978) dismissed all accusations against
Padre Pio.[35][103][104]
Death[edit]
Pio died in 1968 at the age of 81. His health deteriorated in the 1960s but he continued his spiritual
works. On 21 September 1968, the day after the 50th anniversary of his receiving the stigmata,
Padre Pio felt great fatigue.[105] The next day, on September 22, 1968, he was supposed to offer
a Solemn Mass, but feeling weak, he asked his superior if he might say a Low Mass instead, as he
had done daily for years. Due to a large number of pilgrims present for the Mass, Padre Pio's
superior decided the Solemn Mass must proceed. Padre Pio carried out his duties but appeared
extremely weak and fragile. His voice was weak and, after the Mass had concluded, he nearly
collapsed while walking down the altar steps. He needed help from his Capuchin brothers. This was
his last celebration of the Mass.
Early in the morning of 23 September 1968, Pio made his last confession and renewed his
Franciscan vows.[13] As was customary, he had his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the
strength to say the Hail Marys aloud. Till the end, he repeated the words "Gesù, Maria" (Jesus,
Mary). At around 2:30 a.m., he said, "I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary). [105] At
2:30 a.m. he died in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo. With his last breath he whispered, "Maria!" [3]
His body was buried on 26 September in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem
Mass was attended by over 100,000 people. He had often said, "After my death, I will do more. My
real mission will begin after my death." [105] The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the
end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn
by a red pencil" remained on his side but it disappeared. [105]
Posthumous veneration[edit]
Padre Pio with Padre Clemente Tomay, his friend and confessor
In 1971, three years after his death, Pope Paul VI said to the superiors of the Capuchin Order about
Pio:
Look what fame he had, what a worldwide following gathered around him! But why? Perhaps
because he was a philosopher? Because he was wise? Because he had resources at his disposal?
Because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from dawn to dusk and was–it is not easy to say
it–one who bore the wounds of our Lord. He was a man of prayer and suffering. [106]
In 1982, the Holy See authorized the archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to
determine whether Pio should be canonized. The investigation continued for seven years. In 1990
Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the process of canonization. The investigation,
however, did not lead to any public factual clearance by the Church on his previous
'excommunication' or on the allegations that his stigmata were not of a supernatural kind. Moreover,
Pio's stigmata were remarkably left out of the obligatory investigations for the canonization process,
in order to avoid obstacles prohibiting a successful closure.
Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints debated how Padre Pio had lived his
life, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him venerable. A discussion of the effects of his life on
others followed. Cases were studied such as a reported cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de
Martino, associated with Padre Pio's intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John
Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed. A media offensive by the Capuchins was able to realise a broad
acceptation of the contested saint in society.[107]
After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, including
discussion of another healing attributed to his intercession, John Paul II declared Padre Pio a saint
on 16 June 2002.[99] An estimated 300,000 people attended the canonization ceremony in Rome. [99]
The Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo
On 1 July 2004, John Paul II dedicated the Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (sometimes referred
as Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church), built in the village of San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.[108]
On 3 March 2008, the body of Pio was exhumed from his crypt, forty years after his death, so that
his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair
condition". Archbishop Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni
Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the
body is well preserved".[109] Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the
stigmata are not visible.”[110] He said that Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a
manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be
recognizable. However, because of its deterioration, his face was covered with a
lifelike silicone mask.[111]
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints,
celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on April 24 at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace, San Giovanni
Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the
monastery.[112] Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with
crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. 800,000 pilgrims worldwide, mostly
from Italy, made reservations to view the body up to December 2008, but only 7,200 people a day
were able to file past the crystal coffin. [113][114][115] Officials extended the display through September,
2009.[116]
Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio, which is beside San Giovanni Rotondo. In April
2010 they were moved to a special golden "Cripta". [117]
A statue of Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it supposedly wept tears of blood.
[118]
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was named the patron saint of civil defence volunteers, after a group of 160
petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference for this designation. The bishops forwarded the request to
the Vatican, which gave its approval to the designation. [119] He is also “less officially” known as the
patron saint of stress relief and the “January blues,” after the Catholic Enquiry Office in London
proclaimed him as such. They designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as January
22, as Don't Worry Be Happy Day, in honor of Padre Pio's famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t
worry.”[120]
Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints. [121] There are more than 3,000 "Padre
Pio Prayer Groups" worldwide, with three million members. The first St Padre Pio parish in the world
was established 16 June 2002 in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada. [122] There
are parishes in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey, and Sydney, Australia,
and shrines in Buena, New Jersey, and Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines, dedicated to Padre
Pio. A 2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics pray to
Padre Pio for intercession than to any other figure.[123]
The altar containing the body of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo
The remains of Saint Pio were brought to the Vatican for veneration during the 2015–
2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Saint Pio and Saint Leopold Mandic were designated as saint-
confessors to inspire people to become reconciled to the Church and to God, by the confession of
their sins.[124]