Pio of Pietrelcina

Pio of Pietrelcina
Pio of Pietrelcina (Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina), O.F.M.
Cap. commonly known as Padre Pio, (May 25, 1887 –
September 23, 1968) was a friar, priest, stigmatist and
mystic[1] of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor
Capuchin. Padre Pio became famous for bearing the
stigmata for most of his life, which generated much interest and controversy around him. He is now venerated
as a saint in the Catholic Church.
who was his spiritual director in San Marco in Lamis, the
young Francesco Forgione was afflicted with a number
of illnesses. At six he suffered from a grave gastroenteritis, which kept him bedridden for a long time. At ten he
caught typhoid fever.
Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione
(1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio Forgione
(1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania.[3]
His parents made a living as 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. His siblings were 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 also began inflicting penances on himself and was chided on one occasion
by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping
on the stone floor.[6] He worked on the land up to the age
of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family
owned. This delayed his education to some extent.[6]
Francesco’s father went to the United States[7] in search
of work to pay for private tutoring for his son, so that he
might meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order.[3] It was in this period that Francesco received the sacrament of Confirmation on September 27,
1899. He underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On January 6, 1903, at
the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin
friars at Morcone where, on January 22, he took the
Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Friar) Pio, in
honor of Pope St. Pius I, whose relic is preserved in the
Sant'Anna Chapel in Pietrelcina.[8] [5] He took the simple
vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.[3]
As a youth Francesco reported that he had experienced
heavenly visions and ecstasies.[3] In 1897, after he had
completed three years at the public school, Francesco
Pio was born Francesco Forgione, and given the name of was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young
Pius (Italian: Pio) when he joined the Capuchins. After Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations
his beatification in 1999, he was canonized by Pope Saint in the countryside. When he expressed his desire to his
John Paul II on June 16, 2002.[2]
parents, they made a trip to Morcone, a community 13
miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their
son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The friars
there informed them that they were interested in accept1 Early life
ing Francesco into their community, but he needed more
educational qualifications.[5]
2 Priesthood
Commencing his seven-year study for the priesthood, he
traveled to the friary of St. Francis of Assisi by oxcart.[5]
Three years later on January 27, 1907, he made his
solemn profession. At 17, he suddenly fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting
spells, and terrible migraines. He vomited frequently and
could absorb only milk and cheese. The hagiographers
say that it was during this time, together with his physical illness, that inexplicable phenomena began to occur.
According to their stories, one could hear strange noises
coming from his room at night – sometimes screams or
roars. During prayer, Brother Pio remained in a stupor,
as if he were absent. One of Pio’s fellow friars claims to
have seen him in ecstasy, levitating above the ground.[9]
Pietrelcina was a religious town. Feast days of saints were
celebrated throughout the year, and religion had a profound influence on the Forgione family. The members of
the family attended daily Mass, 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 memorized the
Scriptures and narrated Bible stories to their children. His
mother said Francesco was able to see and speak with
Jesus, the Virgin Mary and his guardian angel, and that
as a child, he assumed that all people could do so.
According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco,
1
2
4 STIGMATA
The church in San Giovanni Rotondo, Pade Pio’s own church
In June 1905, Padre Pio’s health was so weak that his
superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in
the hope that the change of air would do him some good.
His health got worse, however, and doctors advised that
he return to his home town. But, even there, his health
continued to worsen.
In 1910, Brother Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop
Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days Padre Pio showing the stigmata
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
4 Stigmata
retaining the Capuchin habit.[6]
On September 4, 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return
to his community life. Thus he was moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary,
located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia. At that time with Father Pius, the community numbered seven friars. He stayed at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death, except for military service.
Padre Pio celebrated the Mass in Latin.[10][11]
3
Military service
On September 20, 1918, while hearing confessions,
Padre Pio had his first occurrence of the stigmata: bodily
marks, pain, and bleeding in locations corresponding to
the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. This phenomenon
continued for fifty years, until the end of his life. The
blood flowing from the stigmata smelled of perfume or
flowers, a phenomenon mentioned in stories of the lives of
several saints and often referred to as the odour of sanctity.
Though Padre Pio would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news about the stigmatic friar began
to spread in the secular world. Padre Pio’s wounds were
examined by many people, including physicians.[4] People who had started rebuilding their lives after World War
I, began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.[13] Those
close to him attest that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from
both sleep and nourishment (one account states that Padre
Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was
able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the
Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to
read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions,
and the fragrance from his wounds.[14]
When World War I started, four friars from this community were selected for military service. At that time,
Padre Pio was a teacher at the seminary and a spiritual director. When one more friar was called into service, Padre Pio was put in charge of the community. On
November 15, 1915, he was drafted into the Italian army
and on December 6, assigned to the 10th Medical Corps
in Naples. Due to poor health, he was continually discharged and recalled until on March 16, 1918, he was
declared unfit for military service and discharged.[12] In His stigmata, regarded as evidence of holiness, were studall, his military service lasted 182 days.[13]
ied by physicians whose independence from the Church
4.1
Transverberation and visible stigmata
3
is not known.[15] The observations were unexplainable
and the wounds never became infected.[16][17] His wounds
healed once but reappeared.[18] They were examined by
Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of
Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private practitioner, also examined them in 1920 and 1925.
Professor Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV, agreed that the wounds existed but made no
other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the
University of Rome also observed the wounds but could
make no diagnosis.[19] Both Bignami and Dr. Giuseppe
Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the
wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took
x-rays of Padre Pio’s hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.[20]
However, this condition is said to have caused him great
embarrassment, and most photographs show him with red
mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet where the
bleeding occurred.[16] At the time of Padre Pio’s death,
his body appeared unwounded, with no sign of scarring.
There was a report that doctors who examined his body
found it empty of all blood.[21]
Those, both religious and non-religious, who have accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, often say Padre
Pio used carbolic acid to self-inflict the wounds. The sole
piece of evidence for this is a single document found in
the Vatican’s archive — the report of pharmacist Maria
De Vito, from whom he requested four grams of the
acid. This letter was among the material gathered by
those who disputed Padre Pio’s stigmata at the time. According to De Vito, Padre Pio asked her to keep the
order secret, saying it was to sterilize needles (he also
asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles).[22][23] The
document was examined but dismissed by the Catholic
Church during Padre Pio’s beatification process.[22] A
2007 book by Sergio Luzzatto contended that Padre Pio
faked his wounds was dismissed by the Catholic AntiDefamation League, which said Luzzatto was spreading
“anti-Catholic libels.”[22]
One commentator expressed the belief that the Church
dismissed the claims based on the accounts of witnesses
who stated the acid was in fact used for sterilization. “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.”[22][24] Furthermore, carbolic acid is a caustic substance that causes rotting of
the flesh and eats away at biological tissue, which was
not consistent with Pio’s wounds which were localized for
over sixty years.[25]
A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated:
"Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one
finds him".[26]
famous.[27] In a 1911 letter, Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis,
describing something he had been 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.[27]
His close friend Padre Agostino wrote to him 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. Padre
Pio replied that he had been favoured with visions since
his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). He wrote that although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been
4.1 Transverberation and visible stigmata so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to
withdraw them. He did not wish the pain to be reBased on Padre Pio’s correspondence, even early in his moved, only the visible wounds, since at the time he conpriesthood he experienced less obvious indications of sidered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearthe visible stigmata for which he would later become able humiliation.[27] The visible wounds disappeared at
4
4 STIGMATA
that point, but reappeared in September 1918. He reported, however, that the pain remained and was more
acute on specific days and under certain circumstances.
He also said that he was indeed experiencing the pain of
the crown of thorns and the scourging. He was not able
to clearly indicate the frequency of this experience, but
said that he had been suffering from them at least once
weekly for some years.[27]
These experiences are alleged to have caused his health to
fail, for which reason he was permitted to stay at home.
To maintain his religious life as a friar while away from
the community, he said Mass daily and taught at school.
St. John of the Cross describes the phenomenon of
transverberation as follows:
The soul being inflamed with the love of
God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph,
who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This
leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love.[4]
World War I was still going on, 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 Sculpture of Pader Pio with Jesus on the cross in Prato, Italy.
for an end to the World War. On July 27 of the same
year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of
He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very
the war. Days passed and between August 5 and August
long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed
7, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and
[4][13]
to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all
pierced his side.
As a result of this experience, Padre
this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my
Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is
soul with all his might. I cried out with difficonsidered as a “transverberation” or piercing of the heart
culty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to
indicating the union of love with God. (On 8 August, the
leave because I felt ill and no longer had the
Allies began the Hundred Days Offensive, which led to
strength to continue. This agony lasted uninthe armistice with Germany and the end of the war.)
terruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I canAs a side-note, a first-class relic of Padre Pio, which connot tell you how much I suffered during this
sists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain
period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn
from “the wound of the transverberation of the heart” in
and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was
Padre Pio’s side, is exposed for public veneration at the
spared. From that day on I have been morSt. John Cantius Church in Chicago.[28]
tally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul
a wound that is always open and which causes
With his transverberation began another seven-week long
me continual agony.[28]
period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:
On September 20, 1918, accounts state that the pains
of the transverberation had ceased and Padre Pio was in
During this time his entire appearance
“profound peace.”[4] On that day, as Padre Pio was enlooked altered as if he had died. He was congaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our
stantly weeping and sighing, saying that God
Lady of Grace, the same Being who had appeared to him
had forsaken him.[4]
and given him the transverberation, and who is believed
In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 to be the Wounded Christ, appeared again and Padre Pio
August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his experiences during had another experience of religious ecstasy. When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio had received the visible stigmata,
the transverberation:
the five wounds of Christ. This time, however, the stigmata were permanent and would stay on him for the next
While I was hearing the boys’ confessions
fifty years of his life.[13]
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.
In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, his superior
and spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in
5
Lamis dated October 22, 1918, Padre Pio describes his Cataldo Cassano, who personally extracted the serous liqexperience of receiving the stigmata as follows:
uid from the body of Padre Pio. He remained bedridden
for four consecutive months. In his old age Padre Pio was
tormented by a painful arthritis.
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 sim6 Controversies
ilar 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.[28]
He quoted, “the pain was so intense that I began to feel Pope Pius XI, who began the end of the restrictions against Padre
Pio around 1933.
as if I were dying on the cross.”
5
Poor health
Because of the unusual abilities Padre Pio was claimed
to possess, the Holy See instituted investigations of the
stories surrounding him. The local bishop, P. Gagliardi,
disbelieved Padre Pio’s alleged miracles, suggesting that
his Capuchin brothers were making a display out of Padre
Pio to gain financial advantage. When Pius XI became
pope in 1922, the Vatican became extremely doubtful.
Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations.[16]
In addition to his childhood illnesses, throughout his life
Padre Pio suffered from “asthmatic bronchitis.” He also
had a large kidney stone, with frequent abdominal pains.
He further suffered from a chronic gastritis, which later
turned into an ulcer. He also suffered from inflammations Many severe sanctions were imposed on Padre Pio. The
of the eye, nose, ear, and throat, and eventually formed Vatican forbade him from saying Mass in public, blessing
rhinitis and chronic otitis.
people, answering letters, showing his stigmata publicly,
In 1925, Padre Pio was operated on for an inguinal hernia, and communicating with Padre Benedetto, his spiritual
and shortly after this a large cyst formed on his neck that director. Padre Pio was to be relocated to another convent
was surgically removed. Another surgery was required to in northern Italy.[30] The local people threatened to riot,
remove a malignant tumor on his ear. After this operation and Rome left Padre Pio where he was.[31]
Padre Pio was subjected to radiological treatment, which Fearing these local riots, the plan to transfer Padre Pio to
was successful, it seems, after only two treatments.[29]
another friary was dropped and a second plan was aborted
In 1956, he came down with a serious case of “exuda- when a riot almost happened.[31] Even if he was not transtive pleuritis.” The diagnosis was certified by Professor ferred, from 1921 to 1922 he was prevented from publicly
6
6 CONTROVERSIES
The founder of Milan’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, friar, physician and psychologist Agostino
Gemelli, met Padre Pio once, for a few minutes, but
was unable to examine his stigmata.[32] According to
Agostino Gemelli, Padre Pio was “an ignorant and selfmutilating psychopath who exploited people’s credulity.”
[33]
Agostino Gemelli also speculated that Padre Pio kept
his wounds open with carbolic acid. As a result of the
Gemelli assessment, the wounds were wrapped in cloth.
Padre Pio over many years wore fingerless gloves which
concealed his wounds. According to believers, the bleeding continued for some 50 years until they closed within
hours of his death.[31]
A woman sold four grams of carbolic acid to Padre Pio in
the year 1919. The suggestion was initially presented to
the Vatican by the archbishop of Manfredonia, Pasquale
Gagliardi, as evidence that Padre Pio could have effected
the stigmata with acid. This suggestion was examined and
dismissed.[34]
Pope Pius XII, pope from 1939, encouraged devotees to visit
Padre Pio.
By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pope Pius XI ordering the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s
public celebration of Mass. The pope said, “I have not
been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been
badly informed.”[13] In 1934, he 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, encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio.
In 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San
Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo della
Sofferenza or “Home to Relieve Suffering.” The hospital
opened in 1956.[13][15] Barbara Ward, a British humanitarian and journalist on assignment in Italy, played a major role in obtaining for this project a grant of $325,000
from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In order that Padre Pio might
directly supervise this project, Pope Pius XII in 1957
granted him dispensation from his vow of poverty.[16][35]
Padre Pio’s detractors used this project as another weapon
to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of
funds.[16]
On July 29, 1960, an Italian monsignore, Carlo Maccari,
who later became the archbishop of Ancona, began yet
another investigation on behalf of Pope Saint John XXIII
(pope from 1958 to 1963) and the Holy Office. The 200page report he compiled, though never published in full,
is said to be devastatingly critical. Maccari included in
this report the charge that Padre Pio had sex with female
penitents twice a week. A Capuchin friar bugged Padro
[31]
Pope Paul VI, in the mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations Pio’s room, but found no evidence to this the charge.
Vatican gossip long had it that the “Maccari dossier” was
against Padre Pio.
an insuperable obstacle to Padre Pio’s sainthood. According to official Capuchin literature, however, Maccari later
performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions recanted and prayed to Padre Pio on his deathbed.[31]
and saying Mass.[15] From 1924 to 1931, the Holy See
According to a recent book, Pope Saint John XXIII
made statements denying that the happenings in the life
apparently did not espouse the outlook of his prede[13]
of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause.
7
cessors and wrote in 1960 of Padre Pio’s “immense
deception.”[36] However, it was John XXIII’s successor,
Pope Paul VI, (pope from 1963 to 1978) who, in the
mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre
Pio.[16][31]
of the Sun. Franciscan spirituality is focused on walking in Christ’s footsteps, understanding God by doing
what Christ asked, experiencing and sharing God. Later
Padre Pio became a spiritual director. He had five rules
for spiritual growth: weekly confession, daily Commureading, meditation, and examination of
In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła, a young Polish nion, spiritual
[13]
conscience.
priest who was studying in Rome at the Pontifical
University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum and Padre Pio, who was devoted to rosary meditations,
who would later go on to become Pope John Paul II, said:[42]
visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. Austrian
Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided
“The person who meditates and turns his
to him that during this meeting Padre Pio told him he
mind to God, who is the mirror of his soul,
would one day ascend to “the highest post in the Church
seeks to know his faults, tries to correct them,
though further confirmation is needed.”[37] Cardinal
moderates his impulses, and puts his conStickler further went on to say that Wojtyła believed that
science in order.”
the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a cardinal,
not pope, as has been reported in works of piety.[38] He compared weekly confession to dusting a room
(John Paul’s secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the weekly, and recommended the performance of meditaprediction,[39] while George Weigel’s biography Witness tion and self-examination twice daily: once in the mornto Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, ing, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the
does not mention it.) According to oral tradition[40] evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical apBishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him plication of theology he often summed up in his now fato pray for Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a friend in Poland who mous quote, “Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry”. He directed
was suffering from cancer. Later, Dr. Poltawska’s cancer Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire
was found to be in spontaneous remission. Medical above all things to do the will of God.[13] The novelist and
professionals were unable to offer an explanation for the cynic Graham Greene, had two photos of Padre Pio in
phenomenon.[41] However, Pope John Saint Paul II, who his wallet after attending one of his Masses. He said that
was the pope from 1978 to 2005 started the canonization Padre Pio had “introduced a doubt in my disbelief.”[31]
process of Padre Pio. The Church has since formally
approved his veneration with his canonization by Pope Many people traveled to San Giovanni Rotondo in the
south of Italy, when they have heard of Padre Pio, to
Saint John Paul II in 2002.
meet him and confess to him, ask for help, or just because they were curious. Padre Pio’s mother died at the
village around the convent in 1928. Later, in 1938, Padre
Pio had his old father Gratzio, living with him in the vil7 Later life
lage of San Giovanni Rotondo. Also his brother Michele
moved into the village, together with their father. Padre
Pio’s father lived in a little house outside the convent, until his death, 1946.[43]
8 Death
The Hospital that was built on Padre Pio’s initiative in San Giovanni Rotondo, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza
Padre Pio became a very well known priest. Franciscan spirituality is characterized by a life of poverty, love
of nature, and giving charity to those in need. Franciscan prayer recognizes God’s presence in the wonder of
creation. This is seen clearly in St. Francis’ Canticle
Padre Pio died in 1968 at the age of 81. The deterioration of Padre Pio’s health started during the 1960s and
in spite of this, he continued his spiritual works. On
September 21, 1968, the day after the 50th anniversary
of his receiving the stigmata, Padre Pio experienced great
tiredness.[44] The next day, on September 22, 1968, Padre
Pio was supposed to offer a Solemn High Mass, but feeling weak and fearing that he might be too ill to complete
the Mass, he asked his superior if he might say a Low
Mass instead, just as he had done daily for years. Due to
the large number of pilgrims present for the Mass, Padre
Pio’s superior decided the Solemn High Mass must proceed, and so Padre Pio, in the spirit of obedience to his
superior, went on to celebrate the Solemn High Mass.
While celebrating the Solemn High Mass, he appeared
8
A sculpture of Pio of Pietrelcina in the Franciscan San Antonio
church in Pamplona, Spain
9 REPORTED SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENA
Padre Pio celebrating mass. His Mass would often last hours, as
the mystic received visions and experienced sufferings. Note the
coverings worn on his hands to cover his stigmata.
9 Reported supernatural phenomena
extremely weak and in a fragile state. His voice was weak
when he said the Mass and after the Mass had concluded,
he was so weakened that he almost collapsed as he was
descending the altar steps. He needed help from a great
many of his Capuchin confreres. This would be Padre
Pio’s last celebration of the Mass.
Early in the morning of September 23, 1968, Padre
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).[44]
At 2:30 a.m. he died in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo
with his last breath whispering, “Maria!"[3]
His body was buried on September 26 in a crypt in the
Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem Mass was
attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to
say, “After my death I will do more. My real mission
will begin after my death.”[44] The accounts of those who
stayed with Padre Pio till the end, state that the stigmata
had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar.
Only a red mark “as if drawn by a red pencil” remained
on his side which then disappeared.[44]
Padre Pio was said to have had the gift of reading souls,
the ability to bilocate (according to eyewitness accounts),
among other supernatural phenomena. He was said to
communicate with angels and worked favors and healings before they were requested of him.[45] The reports of
supernatural phenomena surrounding Padre Pio attracted
fame and legend. Even the Vatican was initially skeptical.
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.[46] 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.[46][47] 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.[46] Padre
Pio told her, “The child must not weep and neither must
you for the child sees and you know she sees.”[46] Oculists
were unable to determine how she gained vision. Padre
Pio believed the love of God is inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God is the
way for the soul to reach God. He felt that his soul was
9
lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if to her in a vision and said, “I have come to say goodhe were in the deepest pit of hell.
bye. My time has come. It is your turn.”[49][50][51] Her
husband then watched as his wife’s face transfigured into
that of Padre Pio.[50] On the following day, they heard
of the death of Padre Pio.[49][51] Witnesses say they later
saw Esperanza herself levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation.[51] Padre Domenico da Cese, a fellow
Capuchin stigmatist, reported that on Sunday, September 22, 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.[52]
10 Sainthood and later recognition
Visit of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, General Superior of the
Holy Ghost Fathers, to Padre Pio. Padre Pio is kissing the episcopal ring
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, senior exorcist of Vatican City
stated in an interview that Padre Pio was able to distinguish between real apparitions of Jesus, Mary and the
saints and the illusions created by the devil by carefully
analysing the state of his mind and the feelings produced
in him during the apparitions. In one of Padre Pio’s letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of
his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary,
his guardian angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis were
always with him and helped him always.[48] During his
period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that
Padre Pio was attacked by the devil, both physically and
spiritually.[14] His followers also believe that the devil Pio of Pietrelcina’s sculpture in the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church
used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio’s tor- in San Giovanni Rotondo
ments. 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:
The Devil appeared as young girls that
danced naked without any clothes on, as Christ
Crucified, as a young friend of the friars, as the
Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as
Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis
and as Our Lady.[48]
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.[48]
Padre Pio is said to have engaged in physical combat with
Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which Padre Pio is 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
The Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo
Padre Pio was considered holy even during his lifetime.
In 1971, Pope Paul VI, three years after Padre Pio’s death
speaking to the superiors of the Capuchin Order, said of
him:
In 1982, the Holy See authorized the archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to determine whether
Padre Pio should be considered a saint. The investigation
went on for seven years, and in 1990 Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the progression
to canonization.
10
10
SAINTHOOD AND LATER RECOGNITION
Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints debated how heroically 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, including the cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia
de Martino, which had been associated with Padre Pio’s
intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation,
Pope John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed.
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, the
pope declared Padre Pio a saint on June 16, 2002.[38]
An estimated 300,000 people attended the canonization The body of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.
ceremony.[38]
On July 1, 2004, Pope Saint John Paul II dedicated
the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, built in the village of
San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of Saint Pio of
Pietrelcina.[54] A statue of Saint Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it wept tears of blood.[55]
St. Pio of Pietrelcina is currently known as the patron
saint of civil defense volunteers, after a group of 160
of them petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference. The
bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave
its approval to the designation.[56] 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.”[57]
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”.[60] Archbishop D’Ambrosio also
confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not
visible.”[61] He went on to say that St. 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.[62]
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.[63] 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.[64][65][66] Officials
extended the display through September, 2009.[67]
Padre Pio has become one of the world’s most popular
saints. There are more than 3,000 “Padre Pio Prayer
Groups” worldwide, with three million members. There
are parishes in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey, and
Sydney, Australia, and shrines in Buena, New Jersey,
and Batangas, Philippines, dedicated to Padre Pio. A
2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found
Saint Pio’s remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio,
that more Italian Catholics pray to Padre Pio for interceswhich is beside San Giovanni Rotondo. In April 2010
sion than to any other figure. (This prayer, more properly
they were moved to a special golden “Cripta”.[68]
understood as a request that the saint intercede to God,
is not to be confused with worship, which the Catholic
• Sculptures and altars of Padre Pio throughout the
Church teaches is due only to God himself.)[58]
world
A statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill near the
town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province
• A sculpture of Padre Pio helping Christ to bear the
of Puglia, Italy, close to the town where he is commemcross in the San Salvatore in Lauro church in Rome
orated. The project will cost several million pounds,
with the money to be raised from his devotees around
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in a garden in Naples
the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun’s heat and
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Taormina, Sicily
produce solar energy, making it an “ecological” religious
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Carey, Ohio
icon.[59]
On March 3, 2008, the body of St. Pio was exhumed from
his crypt, 40 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 D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Schömberg, Germany
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Rome
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Serra Pedace
11
• An altar to St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina in All Saints
Catholic Church in Walton, Kentucky, USA
• A sculpture of Padre Pio in Italy raised October 28,
2006
• Statue in St. Joseph Church in Hamburg, in the
borough of Wandsbek, Germany
• The Capuchin parish church (18th century) in
Łomża - picture of Padre Pio
• In the 1998 film Stigmata, one of the main characters, a priest named Father Kiernan, while investigating a possible case of stigmata afflicting a woman
played by Patricia Arquette, mentions Padre Pio and
wrongly claims he only had two wounds in a conversation with her, during which a photo of Padre Pio
as a young man is shown on screen.
12 See also
• Statue in a church in Barberino di Mugello, Florence, Italy
• Incorruptibility
• Padre Pio statue at a house in Porto Azzurro
• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• Padre Pio sculpture in Lienz, Austria
• Victim soul
• The statue of Padre Pio in Gabicce Mare
• Visions of Jesus and Mary
• Padre Pio statue
• Padre Pio Chapel in Kwidzyn, Poland
• Sculpture of Pio of Pietrelcina in Villa di Galceto in
the province of Prato
• Weeping statue
• Robert McQueeney
13 References
11
In popular culture
[1] “Saint Pio of Pietrelcina”. BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
[2] ""Padre Pio de Pietrelcina”,- PADRE PIO DA PIETRELCINA”. Vatican News Service.
[3] Ruffin, Bernard C. (1991). Padre Pio: The True Story.
Our Sunday Visitor. p. 444. ISBN 978-0-87973-673-6.
[4] Gerhold, Ryan (2007-02-20). “The Second St. Francis”.
The Angelus: 12–18.
[5] “Padre Pio the Man Part 1”. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[6] Nolan, Geraldine. “Padre Pio A living Crucifix”. Our
Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary Editions. Retrieved 200801-19.
[7] “Saints”. The American Catholic.
[8] Convento Pietralcina. “La chiesetta di Sant'Anna”. http://
www.cappuccinipietrelcina.com. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
[9] R. Allegri, I miracoli di Padre Pio p.21.
[10] (Italian) “Padre Pio e Escrivà de Balaguer refrattari al
Novus Ordo? Nuove prove”. messainlatino.it. 2009-0306. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
[11] (Italian) Accattoli, Luigi (2009-03-04). “La leggenda di
Padre Pio che rifiuta il nuovo messale”. luigiaccattoli.it.
Retrieved 2013-05-10.
The Padre Pio Bookshop on Vauxhall Bridge Road
• Saint Pio and the validity of his claims are discussed in the novel The Shroud Codex by Jerome
R. Corsi, ISBN 978-1-4391-9041-8, Threshold Editions, 2010.
[12] “Chronology”, Padre Pio Devotions, San Diego, California
[13] “Padre Pio the Man Part 2”. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[14] Pelletier, Joseph A (2007-02-20). “PADRE PIO, MARY,
AND THE ROSARY”. Garabandal. Retrieved 2008-0119.
12
[15] “Religion: The Stigmatist”. Time. Dec 19, 1949. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
[16] “Roman Catholics: A Padre’s Patience”. Time. Apr 24,
1964. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
[17] Michael Freze (1989). They Bore the Wounds of Christ:
The Mystery of the Sacred Stigmata. OSV Publishing.
pp. 283–285. ISBN 0-87973-422-1.
[18] Padre Pio
[19] Padre Pio
[20] Ruffin, Bernard. Padre Pio: The True Story; 1991 OSV
Press ISBN 0-87973-673-9 pages 160–163
[21] “Padre Pio’s Cell”. Padre Pio Foundation. 2006-05-12.
Retrieved 2006-05-12.
[22] Maria De Vito said, “I was an admirer of Padre Pio and
I met him for the first time on July 31, 1919...he gave me
personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as
a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid. ...
He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes
for injections. He also asked for other things, such as
Valda pastilles.” Moore, Malcolm (2007-10-24). “Italy’s
Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with acid'". The Daily Telegraph (Rome). Retrieved 2012-04-25.. Moore, Malcolm
(2007-10-24). “Italy’s Padre Pio 'faked his stigmata with
acid'". The Daily Telegraph (Rome). Retrieved 2008-0119..
[23] Maria De Vito: «Io sono stata un’ammiratrice di P. Pio e
l’ho conosciuto di presenza la prima volta il 31 luglio 1919.
Dopo essere ritornata sono rimasta a San Giovanni Rotondo un mese. Durante il mese in cui ho avuto occasione
di avvicinarlo più volte al giorno, ne ho riportata sempre
ottima impressione. La vigilia della mia partenza per Foggia, il P. Pio mi chiamò in disparte e con tutta segretezza,
imponendo il segreto a me in relazione anche agli stessi
frati suoi confratelli, mi consegnò personalmente una boccettina vuota, richiedendomi che gliela facessi pervenire a
mezzo dello “chauffeur” che presta servizio nell’autocarro
per trasporto passeggeri da Foggia a San Giovanni Rotondo con dentro quattro grammi di acido fenico puro, spiegandomi che l’acido serviva per la disinfezione delle siringhe occorrenti alle iniezioni che egli praticava ai novizi.
Insieme mi venivano richiesti altri oggetti come pastiglie
Valda, nasalina, etc. che io mandai». Tornielli, Andrea (2007-10-23). “Nuovo attacco a Padre Pio: 'Stimmate false'". il Giornale (Rome). Retrieved 2012-04-25..
See also: Tornielli, Andrea (2010). Padre Pio, l’ultimo
sospetto. La verità sul frate delle stimmate. Piemme.
p. 240. ISBN 978-88-566-1521-0., cf. Gaeta, Saverio
(2008-03-03). “Una recente querelle su Padre Pio”. Vita
pastorale (Italy). Retrieved 2012-04-25.
[24] Rega (2005), p. 55
[25] Schiffman, Richard (2011-11-28). “Did Padre Pio Fake
His Stigmata Wounds?". Huffington Post.
[26] The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer by Liz Kelly 2004 ISBN
0-8294-2024-X pages 79 and 86
13
REFERENCES
[27] Mc Gregor, O.C.S.O, Augustine; Fr. Alessio Parente,
O.F.M. Cap. (1974 St. Padre Pio). The Spirituality of
Padre Pio. San Giovanni Rotondo, FG, Italy: Our Lady
of Grace Monastery. Retrieved 2008-01-19. Check date
values in: |date= (help)
[28] “First class relic of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina at St. John
Cantius Church”. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[29] R.Allegri, I miracoli di Padre Pio, p.141
[30] “Close encounters with Padre Pio”. PadrePio. Retrieved
2014-05-04.
[31] Allen, John L. (December 28, 2001). “For all who feel put
upon by the Vatican: A new patron saint of Holy Rehabilitation”. National Catholic Reporter 1 (18). Retrieved
2008-01-19.
[32] http://www.newoxfordreview.org/reviews.jsp?did=
0112-baruch
[33] Vallely, Paul (2002-06-17). “Vatican makes a saint of the
man it silenced”. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 200801-20.
[34] Moore, Malcolm (23 October 2007). “Italy’s Padre Pio
'faked his stigmata with acid'". The Daily Telegraph (London).
[35] Marie osb, Dom Antoine (2000-04-24). “Letter on
Blessed Pader Pio: Stigmata – Sacraments of Penance and
Eucharist – Suffering”. Retrieved 2006-09-27.
[36] Fisher, Ian; Daniele Pinto (25 April 2008). “SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO JOURNAL; Italian Saint Stirs Up a
Mix Of Faith and Commerce”. The New York Times. p.
9. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
[37] Kwitny, Jonathan (March 1997). Man of the Century: The
Life and Times of Pope John Paul II. New York: Henry
Holt and Company. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-8050-2688-7.
[38] Zahn, Paula (2002-06-17). “Padre Pio Granted Sainthood”. CNN. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
[39] Dziwisz, Stanisław (2008). A Life with Karol: My FortyYear Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-52374-5.
[40] http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
word1228.htm
[41] Rega, Frank M. (2005). Padre Pio and America. TAN
Books. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-89555-820-6.
[42] The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer by Liz Kelly 2004 ISBN
0-8294-2024-X pages 79 and 86
[43] Ylva-Kristina Sjöblom. Padre Pio. Catholica. pp. 10, 85.
[44] Schug, Rev. John (1987). A Padre Pio Profile. Huntington. ISBN 978-0-87973-856-3.
[45] Carroll-Cruz, Joan (March 1997). Mysteries Marvels and
Miracles In the Lives of the Saints. Illinois: TAN Books.
p. 581. ISBN 978-0-89555-541-0.
13
[46] Kalvelage, Bro. Francis Mary (1999). Padre Pio: The
Wonder Worker. Ignatius Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-089870-770-0.
14 External links
• “Padre Pio de Pietrelcina”, Vatican News Service
[47] “THE HEALING OF GEMMA DI GIORGI”. THE
HEALING OF GEMMA DI GIORGI. Retrieved 2012-1209.
• Padre Pio of Pietrelcina | Official website (Italian)
(English)
[48] “Padre Pio da Pietrelcina Epistolario I° (1910–1922)".
Retrieved 2008-01-19.
• Padre Pio of Pietrelcina | Official TV and radio
channels (Italian) (English)
[49] Brooks, Stevern, Where are the Mantles, p. 49-51, Xulon
Books
• Padre Pio of Pietrelcina | Official magazine (Italian)
(English)
[50] Brown, Michael The Incredible Story Of Maria Esperanza
Spirit Daily
• Padre Pio Foundation of America
[51] Davidson, Linda Kay and David Martin Gitlitz,
Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland : an
encyclopedia, Volume 1, p. 59, ABC-CLIO 2002
[52] The Face of God, Paul Badde, page 231.
[53] “By Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Prayer, etc”. Archdiocese of Boston. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
[54] Hooper, John (2004-07-02). “Guardian Unlimited Arts”.
Monumental church dedicated to controversial saint Padre
Pio (London). Retrieved 2006-05-12.
[55] “Italian statue weeps blood”. BBC News. 2002-03-06.
Retrieved 2006-05-12.
[56] “Italy makes St. Padre Pio patron of civil defense volunteers”. The Georgia Bulletin. 2004-03-30. Retrieved
2010-08-20.
[57] “Saint Pio of Pietrelcina”. BBC Religions. 2009-07-31.
Retrieved 2010-08-20.
[58] “Exhumed body of Italian saint draws thousands”.
Reuters. 24 April 2006.
[59] Squires, Nick (2009-08-05). “Italy to build solar-energyproducing statue of saint”. The Daily Telegraph (London).
Retrieved 2010-05-22.
[60] “Italy exhumes revered monk’s body”. BBC Online. 3
March 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
[61] “St. Padre Pio’s Body Exhumed”. Zenit. Retrieved 200803-06.
[62] Moore, Malcolm. “Padre Pio pilgrims flock to see saint’s
body” Telegraph. 25 April 2008
[63] www.catholicnewsagency, Faithful to be able to venerate
exhumed remains of Padre Pio
[64] iht.com, Faithful await display of Catholic mystic’s body
[65] www.stripes.com, Thousands in Italy flock to see exhumed saint Padre Pio
[66] heraldextra.com, Mystic monk is exhumed second time
[67] www.theaustralian.news.com.au, Corpse of mystic monk
moves the crowd
[68] Article (in Italian) with photos of Padre Pio golden Cripta
• Fondazione Voce di Padre Pio (Italian) (English)
• Padre Pio 2000 Movie
• Prayers by Padre Pio
14.1 Unofficial biographies
• The New York Times, April 25, 2008: “Italian Saint
Stirs Up a Mix of Faith and Commerce”.
• Catholic television network EWTN biography.
14
15
15
TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
15.1
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• File:Hildegard_von_Bingen_Liber_Divinorum_Operum.jpg Source:
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15.3
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• File:S.Giovanni_Rotondo_(7).jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/S.Giovanni_Rotondo_%287%29.jpg
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