Saint Padre Pio
Also known as
Francesco Forgione
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Pio of Pietrelcina
Memorial
23 September
Our Saint for today is a very popular one; if you go into any given Italian Deli or “Salumeria” you will likely see his image somewhere, usually next to St. Anthony. My late father introduced me to our saint today back in 1967 with a popular paperback he was reading at the time recounting the marvelous things the then living Padre Pio was doing. To my cynical mind I was amazed at the fact that Padre Pio bore the stigmata of Christ; my father and I were fascinated and maybe skeptical at this modern day miracle, happening in our lifetimes not back in the dim past of church history. Padre Pio died on September 23rd 1968; my father’s birthday is September 23rd. He was beatified on May 2nd 1999, my birthday. There are no coincidences. He has popped up so many times in my life since that afternoon in 1967; I had to view him as a Personal Protector...because he is.
Profile
Born 25 May 1887 to a poor southern Italian farm family, he joined the Capuchins at age 15. He suffered several health problems, and at one point his family thought he had tuberculosis. Ordained at age 22 on 10 August 1910.
While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata on 20 September 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed. His hands and feet were pierced, as was his side. His wounds continued to bleed until just before his death. He lived in constant pain from the wounds. His bandages and gloves exuded a fragrant aroma similar to the fragrance exuded from the tomb of St. Nicholas in Bari.
Padre Pio would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. To this day I am fascinated by the confession stories of Padre Pio. He was, reportedly able to bilocate (appear in two places at once), levitate, and heal by touch. He founded a hospital called the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, that serves 60,000 a year. In the 1920's he started a series of prayer groups that continue today with over 400,000 members worldwide.
Like other miracle workers He became a spectacle as word spread, especially after American soldiers brought home stories of Padre Pio following WWII, (ask me about the American Bomber pilots story for example) much to the consternation of the church, the priest himself became a point of pilgrimage for both the pious and the curious. For more than a decade he was forbidden from saying Mass in public. When this ban was lifted the Capuchins moved his sacrifice of the Mass earlier and earlier in the day to avoid the crowds that would come to see him perform the liturgy. They decided this was futile when his 4 AM Mass was crowded to overflowing spilling into the streets. They ordered him to always wear gloves covering the obvious stigmata on his hands.
The stigmata vanished after his death.
The stories of cures due to his intervention are too numerous to count. So today I suggest:
Prayer for protection and healing from Coronavirus:
Padre Pio I turn to you with this prayer to ask for your clemency, protect us from the coronavirus and let those who have already fallen ill all over the world and who regain their health grow in faith and hope for recovery. Padre Pio illuminate the minds of researchers and scientists, guide their hands so that they can find an effective end to this virus, extend your blessing on them. Padre Pio give strength to healthcare workers who work in hospitals to treat coronavirus patients, make their hearts compassionate give them wisdom make them recognize Jesus in every patient. I thank you with all my heart for the coronavirus patients you are healing, I thank you for those who, with your great compassion and mercy, are visiting and giving heavenly comfort to those who have been called to the house by the Father
Beatified
2 May 1999 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized
16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy
Link to the Padre Pio foundation of America: http://www.padrepio.com/
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