SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy – St. Pio, also known as Padre Pio, was born Francesco Forgione in Petrelcina, a town in the hills of the Samnium region of southern Italy on May 25, 1887. He grew up embracing the Lord’s teachings and as a shepherd boy, would recite the rosary when grazing sheep. St. Pio served Mass everyday as an acolyte and often stayed in church to pray after it was closed.
In 1903, St. Pio left home for the Capuchin friars’ novitiate with his parents’ blessings and seven years later, was ordained a priest. In 1918, the five wounds of our Lord’s passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in history. Throughout his life, St. Pio was revered as a holy man whose spiritual guidance was sought by millions all over the world. A devotee of St. Francis of Assisi, he spent long hours in prayer. His letters to spiritual directors revealed the sufferings, both physical and spiritual, he endured and disclosed his deep relationship with God and his unflinching love for the Blessed Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1968, St. Pio passed away, wearing his priestly stole and holding in his hands the Franciscan rule.
In 1983, the diocesan process leading to St. Pio’s canonization was begun. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1999 and declared a saint by the same Pope in 2002. The process included the investigation of several miracles attributed to St. Pio, specifically the healing of the sick without a scientific explanation or basis.
Former Archbishop of Manfredonia Valentino Vailati once said, “I believe that the Holy Father Paul VI has indicated clearly to us Padre Pio’s mission. He said Mass humbly. He confessed from morning to evening. He was a marked representative of the Lord. He devoted himself with heroism to rebuilding the house of the Lord and to defending, with the courage of a prophet, the fundamental values of the faith and of Catholic morals.”
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Going to St. Pio’s shrine from Rome involved taking a 3 1/2-hour train ride to Foggia then a 45-minute bus trip to San Giovanni Rotondo. The bus will take you to a terminal about a 10-minute walk to the reconstructed Our Lady of Grace church which was enlarged and consecrated in 1959. Adjacent to the structure is the magnificent St. Pio of Pietrelcina church with a large square that can accommodate 30,000 for open-air religious services and candle-light Eucharistic processions. On the left side of the square are eight bells of different sizes and weights, each bearing the Franciscan symbol “Pax et Bonum.”
The “new” St. Pio church features a glass window measuring 700 square meters opening out into the square. The “upper” church can take in 6,500 and is made up of arches of marble held together by steel cables, radiating from the wedge-shaped altar. A bronze cross and the stone altar were designed by sculptor Arnado Pomodoro.
In 2009, the “lower” church and corridor leading to it were decorated with mosaics depicting the life of St. Francis on one wall and the life of St. Pio on the other. The “lower” church interior contains mosaics portraying episodes in Jesus’ life. Behind the altar is a sarcophagus made of light wood and silver, protected in a container, where St. Pio’s mortal remains are. Pilgrims line up to touch St. Pio’s sarcophagus and pray before the stigmata.
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My wife Menchu and I prayed a rosary at the “lower” church, asking forgiveness from the Lord for our sins and shortcomings, love and peace in the world and relief from sickness. To be in the holy presence of St. Pio, through his remains, was a wonderful spiritual experience. We brought up rosaries, handkerchiefs and religious medals to where St. Pio’s coffin is enclosed and crossed them on the silver sarcophagus.
At the shrine, pilgrims may write letters to St. Pio on sheets of paper provided by the staff. The stationery where you write your supplications contains the words: Caro Padre Pio, mi chiamo (your name), e desidero esprimerti il mio stato d’animo, la mia situazione, il mio problema (Dear Padre Pio, I am called – your name – I wish to express my state of mind, my situation and my problem).”
A prayer in honor of St. Pio is suggested by Archbishop of Manfredonia Vincenzo Addario: “O God, You gave St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest, the great privilege of participating in a unique way in the passion of Your Son, grant me through his intercession the grace of…which I ardently desire; and above all, grant me the grace of living in conformity with the death of Jesus, to arrive at the glory of the Resurrection.” Three Glory Be’s end the prayer.
Before the end of the day, we took the bus to Foggia and train back to Rome where we got in before 10:30 p.m. St. Pio was a living phenom and now in death, is a saint with extraordinary healing powers. Faith in the Lord is the key to physical and spiritual healing. In the end, no matter what, we humbly accept God’s will.