St. Pio of
Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Francesco
Forgione was born in Pietrelcina, Italy, on May 25,1887, and named in honor of
St. Francis of Assisi. The devout Francesco at an early age felt drawn to
the priesthood, and became a Capuchin novice at the age of sixteen. Ordained a
priest in 1910, he became known as Padre Pio. During this time he
suffered much, both physically and spiritually, all of which he accepted with
praise and thanks to God, trusting that if God allowed it, God could use it for
the good of others.
On
September 20, 1918, while kneeling in front of a large crucifix, Padre Pio
received the visible marks of the crucifixion, with wounds in his hands, feet,
and side, making him the first priest to receive the stigmata in the history of
the Church. On the day he died in 1968, at the age of 81, the wounds
disappeared, a miracle Padre Pio had predicted 50 years earlier.
Padre Pio was blessed with many mystical gifts. The blood
from the wounds of Jesus in his body carried a beautiful perfumed aroma.
He had the gift of bilocation, or being in two places at the same time. He had
the ability to read the hearts of the penitents who flocked to him during his
long hours of hearing confessions. Padre Pio used the confessional to bring
both sinners and devout souls closer to God; giving just the right word of
counsel or encouragement to all.
Thousands went to his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo
suffering from all sorts of illness, including cancer, tuberculosis, blindness,
etc. Many received healing through his intercession. Padre Pio had a great love
for Our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Michael the Archangel, and his Guardian angel,
and received much help from them. He also had a great love and prayed much for
the Souls in Purgatory.
In 1948, a young Polish priest heard about Padre Pio and
visited him for Confession and spiritual direction. Though we do not what they
shared, the young priest, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, was deeply moved by the encounter.
Almost two decades later, in November 1962, now a bishop, Karol Wojtyla
returned to Rome for the second Vatican Council. He sent a note asking Padre Pio
to pray for his friend, Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a survivor of a Nazi concentration
camp and mother of four, who had been diagnosed with a very serious and
aggressive intestinal tumor. Padre Pio replied, “To this one, it is impossible
to say no.” He prayed all night for the doctor. When Bishop Wojtyla called home
two weeks later to hear how the operation went, he learned that the tumor had
disappeared!
In May 1967, Dr. Poltawska herself was able to leave
Communist Poland briefly for a trip to Italy. She journeyed to San Giovanni
Rotondo, where she attended a Mass celebrated by Padre Pio. At the Mass,
Poltawska could see Padre Pio’s own agony, the stains of blood from his wounds,
the sweat running down his face. Afterward, she waited to greet him. He passed
by her, walking slowly on his pierced feet. He stopped, then gazed at her,
smiled, and said, “Now you are all right?” The doctor was stunned. She had
never met Padre Pio, yet she knew he recognized her. He had suffered for her,
because he could not refuse the request of the young Polish Bishop. And, as
Providence would have it, Dr. Poltawska was there, in Rome, on June 16, 2002,
when her old friend, who had become the first Polish pope, John Paul II,
canonized the gentle Padre as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina!
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