PADRE PIO OF PIETRELCINA

Padre Pio believed that
"Love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering"

Like the Apostle Paul, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina placed at the centre of his life and apostolic work the Cross of his Lord as his strength, his wisdom and his glory. Inflamed by love of Jesus Christ, he became like Him in the sacrifice of himself for the salvation of the world.

This worthy follower of Saint Francis of Assisi was born on May 25, 1887, at Pietrelcina, in the Archdiocese of Benevento, Italy, the son of Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. He was baptized the next day and given the name Francesco. At the age of twelve, he received the Sacrament of Confirmation and made his First Holy Communion.

On January 6, 1903, at the age of sixteen, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone, where on January 22 he took the Franciscan habit and the name Brother Pio. At the end of his novitiate year, he took simple vows, and on January 27, 1907 made his solemn profession. After he was ordained a priest on August 10, 1910 at Benevento, he stayed at home with his family until 1916 for health reasons. In September of that year, he was sent to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo, and remained there until his death, in 1968.

On June 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized in Rome Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, one of the greatest saints of all times. There are saints who have been known for healing; there are saints who could "read" souls; there are saints who were known for levitation; there were saints who bore the stigmata, or were seen in apparition, or who had the “odor of sanctity.” There are saints who could understand languages they didn't know. But Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who died on September 23, 1968, had all these charisms, and more. In fact, not since St. Francis of Assisi has there been such a miracle-worker.

On September 17, 1915 — the same date as St. Francis Assisi — that Padre Pio received the first invisible stigmata. These signs of the Passion of Our Lord gave him so cruel pains some days, and especially on Fridays.Three years later, in 1918, after his transfer from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo, the wounds of Christ appeared visibly on the hands and feet of Padre Pio, who was from now on no longer able to hide them. Padre Pio would bear the wounds for fifty years. A few minutes after his death, they mysteriously vanished.

Michael Brown, of Spirit Daily, wrote: “Pray to Pio for healing. Pray to him when seeking relief from the devil. And follow his standard of Mass. This was where his true colors became most pronounced. So intense was Padre Pio during Mass that many claimed his face transfigured into that of Christ's, especially during the Consecration. At times, St. Pio held the Host up for more than ten minutes, seeing a reality others could no see, feeling One with Jesus, realizing the Real Presence. So prolonged were such moments that his Mass typically lasted more than two hours (without a homily, which he rarely gave).”


“Whoever attended just one Mass of his, never forgot it,” noted a friend of his, Padre Alberto D'Apolito. “It produced such an impression that time and space between the altar and Calvary disappeared. The Mass of Padre Pio visibly reproduced the Passion of Christ, not only in a mystical form, but also physically, in his body. Waves of emotion made Padre Pio tremble at the altar as if the struggle with invisible persons filled him, time after time, with fear, joy, sadness, anguish, and pain. From the expression on his face, one could follow the mysterious dialogue.”

Pope John Paul II knew very well the Capuchine priest he officially declared a saint on June 16.

Karol Wojtyla (Pope Jone Paul II) met Padre Pio for the first time in 1947. It was not an ordinary meeting, like with other pilgrims. It is a meeting that lasted almost a week, during which young Father Wojytla had the opportunity to talk for a long time with Padre Pio, to assess his doctrine and have a precise conception of his spirituality.What did Padre Pio say to Father Wojtyla? We don't know. The Pope did not speak about it. But on the day of his election as a Pope, on October 16, 1978, curious things circulated in Rome about this meeting in 1947. People said that Padre Pio had foretold to young Wojtyla that he would become a Pope. An old Polish priest said to me that Karol Wojtyla, still young, often alluded to this prophecy, and joking, judged its realization impossible. But after he became Bishop, than Archbishop of Krakow, he no longer spoke about it, because he was starting to think that the prophecy might well come true.

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