Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Padre Pio believed that:
“LOVE IS THE FIRST INGREDIENT IN THE RELIEF OF SUFFERING”
BIOGRAPHY OF SAINT PADRE PIO
Padre Pio was born in Pietrelcina, a little town situated few kilometres from Benevento (Southern Italy), on May 25, 1887.
His father, Grazio Forgione, known as "Razio", was a farmer who lived on his own work. His mother, Giuseppina Di Nunzio, was a woman of great mercy.
They baptised him Francesco in Santa Maria degli Angeli, Our Lady of Angels, the ancient parish church, located in the upper part of Pietrelcina, called the 'Castle'.
Since young he helped his parents with their work in the fields, but, above all, he was the shepherd of the flock.
When he felt the calling to priestwood, his father willingly undertook all the expenses needed to let him study and emigrated to America.
At the age of fifteen he entered the noviciate of the Capuchin Friars in Morcone, where on January 22, 1903 he worn the clothing of Saint Francis and was called Padre Pio.
After finishing the year as a novice, on January 22, 1904, he took the simple vows and, consequently, he started his studies to become a priest in the various monasteries of the provence.
On January 27, 1907, he took the solemn vows, thus entering the Order for ever. Unfortunately, due to his bad health he was obliged to alternate monastic life and period of convalescence in his home town.
They thought he suffered from tuberculosis so that they had some doubts that he could reach priesthood or, anyhow, live the severe rule of Saint Francis.
However, thanks to his strong will he surpassed all difficulties and, on August 10, 1910 he took the Holy Orders in the Cathedral of Benevento.
Neverthless his health was getting on uncertain and, therefore, except for short visits to the Convent, the spiritual advisor preferred him to stay in his home town where he could sometimes help the priest of the town in the holy ministery.
Owing to the calling up to the army (November 1915), Padre Pio ended up his stay in Pietrelcina.
He spent this period altering sick leaves, short stay in his town, and in various monasteries, like that in San Giovanni Rotondo, where he arrived on July 28, 1916
And lived til his death.
On September 20, 1918 five wounds of Our Lord's Passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of Church.
This event, strengthened by the fame he had always had as a religious saint, had a great echo and people from all parts of the world arrived, arousing alarming worries in the world of Church and Science.
Despite the great multitude of people around him, the disputes and criticism aroused, Padre Pio looked after his duties as a priest (particularly the holy mass and confession) with all humility, perseverance, and obedience.
On January 9, 1940, he set up a magnificent work aimed to relieve the sufferance.
This work was carried out with the help of disciples and the small spontaneous offerings of believers coming from all over the world.
Thus, the House for Relief of Suffering open its doors to patients, on May 5, 1956, gaining the favour of peoples.
An impressive number of believers affirmed to owe to Padre Pio a great change in their life.
Countless were the favours, even material, received through the intercession of his prayers.
Padre Pio died peacefully on the 23rd of September 1968, at 2 a.m., holding the Holy rosary in his hands and uttering the words: "Jesus!…Mary!".
He was 81 and his teachings are still alive today.
On the 20th of March 1983 the beatification process started. On the 2nd of March 1999, in Saint Peter's Square, Pope John Paul II declared Padre Pio of Pietrelcina Blessed.
CANONIZATION OF PADRE PIO
On June 16, when the Pope canonizes Padre Pio -- the famous
Italian priest -- it will be the most momentous canonization
since Therese the Little Flower. Not since St. Francis of Assisi
has there been such a miracle-worker, and elevation of this great
mystic to sainthood is bound to unleash a torrent of heavenly
power. This is a man who healed literally thousands -- while he
was still alive; who could read souls -- knowing in case after
case exactly what a person in Confession had done; who was seen
in dozens of cases in bilocation (appearing far from where he
actually was). This is a man who suffered legitimate stigmata --
deep wounds that bled until they miraculously healed upon his
death. This is a priest who could predict the future and could
see into heaven and led many to the faith. To understand the
potency of Padre Pio, one has only to know that during World
War Two, pilots seeking to bomb the vicinity of San Giovanni
Rotundo, where he lived, time and again recounted how they had
been unable to bomb the area after spotting the apparition of a
monk -- at times a towering apparition -- in the clouds.
As documented in a solidly researched book, Padre Pio: The True
Story (by an initially skeptical Protestant minister), there were
accounts that defy the belief of even the most ardent believer:
a sighting of him at the Vatican even though he never left the
San Giovanni monastery; the transfiguration of his face into that
of Jesus' during consecration; a worker named Giovanni Savino
who lost an eye that later materialized under the bandages after
Pio visited him in bilocation.
"Reports of bilocation came from all over the world, from Hawai
to St. Peter's, where Padre Pio allegedly put in an appearance
at the canonization of St. Therese of Lisieux in 1925," writes
the minister, Bernard Ruffin. "Within the Mass, however, Padre
Pio admitted to an intense mystical involvement with the unseen
world. He apparently saw, as in a vision, the entire Passion,
and actually felt, physically, the wounds of Jesus. During the
offering of the bread and wine, Padre Pio often remained
motionless for moments on end, as if 'nailed by a mysterious
force,' gazing with moistened eyes upon the crucifix. At these
moments, he said, his soul was 'separated from all that is
profane.' At the Commemorations of the Living and the Dead, he
maintained that he saw all his spiritual children at the altar,
'as if in a mirror.'"
It's impossible to do justice to the entire array of miracles.
They are endless, and they have transcended his death. Many are
those who claim he has interceded in hopeless cases -- especially
with children -- or have seen him in apparition: in one
memorable case he materialized on the altar to give Communion
to a startled woman at San Giovanni Rotundo!
One day, recounts Ruffin, a priest named Padre Constantino
"entered Pio's room and was struck by what he saw. 'His
countenance was shining with a rosy flame of light such as I had
never seen before and shall, I think, never see again. It was
but for an instant, but I shall never forget it.' This
phenomenon was observed in Moses when he came down from Sinai
with the two tables of the Law in his hands."
As for the sky phenomenon: "There are many stories concerning
Allied pilots who attempted to bomb San Giovanni but were
stopped by an apparition of a 'monk' standing in the air with
his arms outstretched," says Ruffin. "There are fliers who swore
that they had sighted a figure in the sky, sometimes normal size,
sometimes gigantic, usually in the form of a monk or priest.
The sightings were too frequent and the reports came from too
many sources to be totally discounted. Several people from
Foggia, where thousands were killed in the air raids, said that
a bomb, falling into a room where they had huddled, landed near
a photograph of Padre Pio. They claimed that when it exploded,
it 'burst like a soap bubble.' Others reported that while bombs
were raining down upon the city, they cried, 'Padre Pio, you have
to save us!' While they were speaking, a bomb fell into their
midst but did not explode."
If in the 1990s a million a year were already visiting his tomb,
we can only imagine what the figures are today -- and what they
will be following canonization. His canonization may break
records for attendance. His beatification did -- attracting
300,000. Virtually every charism reported with Francis of Assisi
was also recorded with Pio -- around whom a large pilgrim center
has been built, similar to the development of Assisi. Hundreds
of thousands flocked to see him when he was alive and hundreds
of thousands will be pouring into St. Peter's Square on June 16. Watch for an explosion of devotion to him. This will not be a normal canonization. This is not typical sanctity. When Pio is canonized, it will be into the pantheon of the Church's greatest saints.
CANONIZATION OF ST PIO OF PIETRELCINA, CAPUCHIN PRIEST
HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II
Sunday, 16 June 2002
1. "For my yoke is easy and my burden light" (Mt 11,30).
Jesus' words to his disciples, which we just heard, help us to
understand the most important message of this solemn celebration.
Indeed, in a certain sense, we can consider them as a
magnificent summary of the whole life of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
, today proclaimed a saint.
The evangelical image of the "yoke" recalls the many trials that
the humble Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo had to face. Today
we contemplate in him how gentle the "yoke" of Christ is, and
how truly light is his burden when it is borne with faithful
love. The life and mission of Padre Pio prove that difficulties
and sorrows, if accepted out of love, are transformed into a
privileged way of holiness, which opens onto the horizons of a
greater good, known only to the Lord.
2. "But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6,14).
Is it not, precisely, the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope.
Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross.
In God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the whole of humanity and the way clearly offered by the Lord to those who wish to follow him (cf. Mk 16,24). The Holy Franciscan of the Gargano understood this well, when on the Feast of the Assumption in 1914, he wrote: "In order to succeed in reaching our ultimate end we must follow the divine Head, who does not wish to lead the chosen soul on any way other than the one he followed; by that, I say, of abnegation and the Cross" (Epistolario II, p. 155).
3. "I am the Lord who acts with mercy" (Jer 9,23).
Padre Pio was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making himself available to all by welcoming them, by spiritual direction and, especially, by the administration of the sacrament of Penance. I also had the privilege, during my young years, of benefitting from his availability for penitents. The ministry of the confessional, which is one of the distinctive traits of his apostolate, attracted great crowds of the faithful to the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo. Even when that unusual confessor treated pilgrims with apparent severity, the latter, becoming conscious of the gravity of sins and sincerely repentant, almost always came back for the peaceful embrace of sacramental forgiveness. May his example encourage priests to carry out with joy and zeal this ministry which is so important today, as I wished to confirm this year in the Letter to Priests on the occasion of Holy Thursday.
4. "You, Lord, are my only good".
This is what we sang in the responsorial psalm. Through these words, the new Saint invites us to place God above everything, to consider him our sole and highest good.
In fact, the ultimate reason for the apostolic effectiveness of Padre Pio, the profound root of so much spiritual fruitfulness can be found in that intimate and constant union with God, attested to by his long hours spent in prayer and in the confessional. He loved to repeat, "I am a poor Franciscan who prays" convinced that "prayer is the best weapon we have, a key that opens the heart of God".
This fundamental characteristic of his spirituality continues in the "Prayer Groups" that he founded, which offer to the Church and to society the wonderful contribution of incessant and confident prayer. To prayer, Padre Pio joined an intense charitable activity, of which the "Home for the Relief of Suffering" is an extraordinary expression. Prayer and charity, this is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio's teaching, which today is offered to everyone.
5. "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because ... these things ... you have revealed to little ones" (Mt 11,25).
How appropriate are these words of Jesus, when we think of them as applied to you, humble and beloved Padre Pio.
Teach us, we ask you, humility of heart so we may be counted among the little ones of the Gospel, to whom the Father promised to reveal the mysteries of his Kingdom.
Help us to pray without ceasing, certain that God knows what we need even before we ask him.
Obtain for us the eyes of faith that will be able to recognize right away in the poor and suffering the face of Jesus.
Sustain us in the hour of the combat and of the trial and, if we fall, make us experience the joy of the sacrament of forgiveness.
Grant us your tender devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.
Accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage toward the blessed homeland, where we hope to arrive in order to contemplate forever the glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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