Pio of Pietrelcina | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait photograph of Padre Pio,c. 1947 | |
| Born | Francesco Forgione (1887-05-25)25 May 1887 Pietrelcina, Province of Benevento, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 23 September 1968(1968-09-23) (aged 81) San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy |
| Resting place | Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 2 May 1999,St. Peter's Square,Vatican City byPope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 16 June 2002, St. Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Majorshrine |
|
| Feast | 23 September |
| Attributes | Stigmata,Franciscan habit,sacerdotal vestments |
| Patronage | Civil defence volunteers,adolescents,Pietrelcina, stress relief, "January blues"[1] |
Pio of Pietrelcina (bornFrancesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known asPadre Pio (Italian for "Father Pius",Latin:Pater Pius) was anItalianfriar of theOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin,priest,stigmatist and mystic. He is venerated as asaint in theCatholic Church, and his feast day is celebrated on 23 September.[2]
Francesco joined the Capuchins at 15, and spent most of his religious life in themonastery ofSan Giovanni Rotondo. As Padre Pio, he was known throughout his life for numerous instances of supernatural phenomena, most notablystigmata—wounds like those ofJesus Christ at hiscrucifixion—on his hands and feet. Several investigations into the phenomena were conducted by theVatican; and although they led to temporary sanctions on his ministry, his reputation for sanctity continued to increase during his lifetime. He was also renowned for other mystical phenomena, and many other forms of spiritual outreach to individuals.
After his death, devotion to Padre Pio has continued to spread among believers worldwide, and especially throughout theMezzogiorno. He wasbeatified on 2 May 1999 andcanonised on 16 June 2002 byPope John Paul II.[3] Hisrelics are exposed in thesanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, next to the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, which is now a major pilgrimage site.[4] His legacy also includes theCasa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering), ahospital built near the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo.[5]
Francesco Forgione was born on 25 May 1887 to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946)[6] and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio (1859–1929), inPietrelcina, a small town located in theprovince of Benevento, in theSouthern Italian region ofCampania.[7] His parents were peasant farmers.[8] He had an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who later became a nun of theBridgettine Order).[8] Two other children born to his parents died in infancy.[7]
Francesco was baptised in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle,[9] and where he later served as analtar boy. At his baptism, he was christened Francesco, in honour ofSaint Francis of Assisi.[10] By the time he was five years old, he had already made the decision to dedicate his life to God, according to his own account.[7] He worked on the land up until the age of 10, looking after his family's small flock of sheep.[11]
The Forgione family was deeply religious, attendingMass daily, praying theRosary nightly and abstaining from meat three days a week in honour ofOur Lady of Mount Carmel.[9] Although both Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they narrated Bible stories to him and his siblings.[12]
According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco, who later became his spiritual director inSan Marco in Lamis, the young Francesco was afflicted with a number of illnesses, suffering from severegastroenteritis at six years old andtyphoid fever at ten.[13]
As a young boy, Francesco reported that he had experienced heavenlyvisions andecstasies.[7] In 1897, after he had completed three years at apublic school, he was said to have been drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a youngCapuchin fromSant'Elia a Pianisi who was in the countryside seeking donations.[14] When Francesco expressed his desire to his parents, they traveled toMorcone, a community 13 miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their son was eligible to enter the order. After meeting Francesco, the friars informed his parents that they were interested in accepting him into their community, but that he first needed to be better educated.[9]
Accordingly, Francesco's father went to theUnited States in search of work to pay for private tutoring in order for his son to meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order.[7] During this period, Francesco prepared to receive thesacrament ofConfirmation, which occurred on 27 September 1899.[15] He also underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On 6 January 1903, at the age of 15, he entered thenovitiate of the Capuchin friars at Morcone.[15] A few weeks later, on 22 January, he took theFranciscanhabit and the name of Fra Pio (Friar Pius), in honour ofPope Pius I, whoserelic is preserved in the Santa Anna Chapel in Pietrelcina,[9][16] with thesimple vows ofpoverty, chastity, and obedience.[7]
Commencing his seven-year study for the priesthood, Padre Pio travelled to thefriary of SaintFrancis of Assisi inUmbria.[9] At 17, he fell ill, experiencing loss of appetite,insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, andmigraines, vomiting frequently and being able to digest onlymilk andcheese. Religious devotees point to this time as when inexplicable phenomena began to occur. During prayers, for example, he appeared to others to be in a stupor, as if he were absent from his body. One of his fellow friars later claimed to have seen him inecstasy as well aslevitating above the ground.[17]
In June 1905, Padre Pio's health worsened to such an extent that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain monastery in the hope that change of air would do him good. This had little impact on his health, however, and doctors advised that he return home. Even there his health failed to improve, yet he still made his solemnreligious profession on 27 January 1907.[15]
In August 1910, he wasordained a priest byArchbishop Paolo Schinosi at theCathedral of Benevento.[15] Four days later, he offered his firstMass at the parish church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels).
Because of his precarious health, Padre Pio was permitted to remain with his family in his hometown of Pietrelcina while still retaining the Capuchin habit.[3] He stayed in Pietrelcina until 1916, due to his health and the need to take care of his family when his father and brother briefly emigrated to the United States.[18] During these years, he frequently wrote mystic letters to his spiritual directors, Fathers Agostino and Benedetto, both friars from the Capuchin monastery ofSan Marco in Lamis.[18][19]
On 4 September 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return to his community life. He moved to an agricultural community, the Convento dei Cappuccini di Santa Maria delle Grazie (Capuchin Friary of Our Lady of Grace), located in theGargano mountains inSan Giovanni Rotondo in theProvince of Foggia. At that time the community numbered seven friars. He remained in San Giovanni Rotondo until his death in 1968, except for a period of military service.[20] During his priesthood, Padre Pio was known to have made a number of successful conversions to Catholicism.[21]
Among his spiritual practices wererosary meditations, to which he was deeply devoted. He compared confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now-famous quote: "Pray, hope, and don't worry" (Prega, spera, e non preoccuparti).[22] He directed Christians to recognise God in all things and to desire above all things to do God's will.[23]
Many people who heard of Padre Pio travelled to San Giovanni Rotondo to meet him and confess to him, ask for help, or satisfy their curiosity. His mother died in the village surrounding the monastery in 1928. Ten years later, he brought his elderly father Grazio to live with him, letting him stay in a small house outside the monastery until his death in 1946.[24]
At the start ofWorld War I, four friars from Padre Pio's community were selected for military service in the Italian army. At that time, he was a teacher and spiritual director at the seminary. When one more friar was called into service, he was put in charge of the community; but on 15 November 1915, he too was drafted and on December 6, assigned to the 10th Medical Corps inNaples. Due to poor health, however, he was continually discharged and recalled, until 16 March 1918, when he was declared unfit for service and given a full discharge.[15]
In September of the same year, Padre Pio began to display the permanent wounds on his hands and feet known as "stigmata".[25] In the following months, his reputation for sanctity grew rapidly in the regions surrounding San Giovanni Rotondo, attracting hundreds of believers to come see him each day.[25]
People who had started rebuilding their lives after the war began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.[23] Those close to him have attested that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts, including healing;bilocation;levitation;prophecy;miracles; reading of hearts;speaking in tongues; making conversions; theodour of sanctity; and extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment: one account from a Capuchin friar even states that Padre Pio, during his stay at a convent inVenafro, was able to subsist for at least 20 days on only the Holy Eucharist without other nourishment).[26][27]
Padre Pio's fame grew exponentially among the wider populace. He became aspiritual director, and it was around this time that he developed his five rules for spiritual growth: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.[23]
By 1925, Padre Pio had converted an old convent building into a medical clinic with a few beds, intended primarily for people in extreme need.[28] In 1940, a committee was formed to establish a larger clinic[29] and donations started to pour in. Construction began in 1947.[28]
According to Italian historianSergio Luzzatto [it], the bulk of the money came from Emanuele Brunatto, a keen follower of Padre Pio, who had made his fortune in theblack market inGerman-occupied France.[30][31] TheUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) also contributed 250 million Italian lire.[32] UNRRA's engagement was facilitated by Lodovico Montini, head of theChristian Democracyparty, and his brother Giovanni Battista Montini (laterPope Paul VI).[33]
The hospital was initially to be named "Fiorello LaGuardia", but was eventually presented as the work of Padre Pio himself,[34] opening asLa Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering) in 1956.[29] Padre Pio handed direct control over to theHoly See, butPope Pius XII granted him adispensation from his vow of poverty in 1957 so he could directly supervise the project.[35][36] Some of Padre Pio's detractors subsequently suggested there had beenmisappropriation of funds.[35]
Although Padre Pio's health deteriorated in the 1960s, he continued his spiritual works.[37] On 22 September 1968, he celebrated a Mass in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of receiving his stigmata, with a large crowd of pilgrims present to celebrate the event as well as television crews.[38]
Due to the overwhelmingly large crowd present for the Mass, the superior of the monastery decided that it should be aSolemn Mass, which is more demanding to celebrate than aLow Mass.[39] Padre Pio carried out his duties but appeared extremely frail.[40] His voice was weak, and after the conclusion of Mass he nearly collapsed while walking down the altar steps but was aided by his Capuchin brothers.[41] This was his last celebration of Mass.[42]
Early the next morning, 23 September, Padre Pio made hislast confession and renewed his Franciscan vows.[23][43] As was his custom, he held his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the strength to pray theHail Marys aloud, instead repeating the wordsGesù, Maria ("Jesus, Mary").[44] He died in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo around 2:30 a.m. at the age of 81.[45]
A few days prior to his death, his stigmata had disappeared. When the doctor who was present at his deathbed examined his body, he observed that the wounds of the stigmata had completely healed, without leaving behind any trace or scar.[45]
Padre Pio's body was placed in acoffin in the church of the monastery to allow pilgrims to pay their respects. The funeral ceremony was held on 26 September, with an estimated 100,000 people attending.[46][47] After a funeral procession in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo and the funeral Mass, he was buried in the crypt in the church of Our Lady of Grace.[46]
Among the mystical gifts that Padre Pio was said to have were the ability tobilocate (the ability to be in two places at the same time), readsouls, and work favours andhealings before they were requested of him.[48] His reported supernatural experiences also includecelestial visions, communication withangels, and physical attacks fromdemons, includingSatan himself.[49][50] Reports ofsupernatural phenomena surrounding Padre Pio—some of which he himself reported in letters he wrote to his spiritual directors, others reported by his followers—attracted fame and amazement, even if the Vatican remained sceptical.
Pio wrote in his letters that early in his priesthood he experienced bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations indicative of the not-yet-visiblestigmata.[51] In a letter to his spiritual companion and confessor Father Agostino dated 21 March 1912, Padre Pio wrote of his devotion to the mystical body of Christ and the intuition that he would bear the stigmata. Luzzatto, however, claims that in this letter Padre Pio uses unrecognised passages from a book by the stigmatised mysticSaint Gemma Galgani.[18]
In a 1915 letter, Agostino asked Padre Pio specific questions about his supernatural experiences. To the question of when he first experienced visions, he replied that he had had them since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). To the question of whether he was a stigmatic, he responded that he was; and to the question of whether he felt the pains of thePassion of Christ, namely his scourging and the crowning with thorns, he responded that he did. He added, however, that he had been so terrified by the phenomenon that he begged God to withdraw the stigmata but not remove the pain, only the visible wounds, as he considered them an indescribable, almost unbearable, humiliation.[51]
On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Padre Pio is said to have had a reappearance of the physical occurrence of the stigmata. His stigmatism reportedly continued for 50 years, until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the wounds purportedly had the odour of perfume or flowers.[52] He conveyed to Agostino that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. Though he said he would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news that Padre Pio was a stigmatic had begun to spread. He often wore red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet, saying that he was embarrassed by the marks.[35]
Amico Bignami considered that the wounds might be a skin necrosis that was hindered from healing through the use of iodine tincture or similar chemicals.[53] Agostino Gemelli claimed that the wounds were consistent with those that soldiers hadinflicted on themselves "by the use of a caustic substance".[54]
Once made public, the wounds were studied by a number of physicians, some hired by the Vatican as part of an independent investigation, the topic of the next section below. Some claimed that the wounds were unexplainable and never seemed to have become infected.[35][55] Despite seeming to heal, they would then reappear periodically.[56] Alberto Caserta tookX-rays of Pio's hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.[57]
Some critics directly accused Padre Pio of faking the stigmata, for example by usingcarbolic acid to make the wounds. Maria De Vito, cousin of the local pharmacist Valentini Vista atFoggia, testified that the young Padre Pio bought carbolic acid and the great quantity of four grams ofveratrine "without presenting any medical prescription whatsoever" and "in great secret".[58] As the pharmacist Vista stated in front of witnesses, veratrine is a "mixture of alkaloids", a "highly caustic product" and "so poisonous, that only a doctor can decide whether to prescribe it".[59] Veratrine was once used as a paralyzing muscleinsecticide, primarily against lice, but was also described by pharmacists as an "external stimulant" that renders one insensitive to pain.[60]
Padre Pio maintained that the carbolic acid was used to sterilize syringes used for medical treatments and that after being subjected to a practical joke in which veratrine was mixed with snuff tobacco, causing uncontrollable sneezing after ingestion, he decided to acquire his own quantity of the substance in order to play the same joke on his confreres.[61][62] The bishop ofVolterra,Raffaele Rossi, came to share this view, believing that "[i]nstead of malice, what is revealed here is Padre Pio's simplicity, and his playful spirit",[62] and that "the stigmata at issue [were] not a work of the devil, nor a gross deceit, a fraud, the trick of a devious and malicious person" nor did they seem to him "a morbid product of external suggestion".[63] Rossi viewed these stigmata as a "real fact".[64]
In August 1918, a few weeks before reportedly receiving the stigmata, Padre Pio described a mystical experience during which he felt being pierced and burnt spiritually and physically. According to what he said, this began on 5 August and ended on the 7th. Father Benedetto, his spiritual director, interpreted this phenomenon as atransverberation. Padre Pio later claimed that this experience left a physical wound on his left side,[65] described by most of the witnesses who examined his wounds as around three inches (7.62 cm) long in the shape of a cross.[66][67]
Padre Pio was believed by his followers to have the gift of bilocation, the ability to be in two places at the same time. When Bishop Rossi asked him about it as part of a Vatican inquiry, Padre Pio replied: "I don't know how it is or the nature of this phenomenon—and I certainly don't give it much thought—but it did happen to me to be in the presence of this or that person, to be in this or that place; I do not know whether my mind was transported there, or what I saw was some sort of representation of the place or the person; I do not know whether I was there with my body or without it."[68][69]
In the 1999 bookPadre 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.[70] 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.[70][71] Her grandmother, however, did not believe the child had been healed. But when Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio forgrace during her confession, her grandmother implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight.[70] He told her, "The child must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees".[70]
According to Bishop Rossi, who was in charge of investigating Padre Pio: "Of the alleged healings, many are unconfirmed or non-existent. In Padre Pio's correspondence, however, there are some credible declarations that attribute miracles to hisintercession. But without medical confirmation it is difficult to reach a conclusion, and the issue remains open."[72]
In 1947, 27-year-old Father Karol Józef Wojtyła (laterPope John Paul II) visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. AustrianCardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this meeting, Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the church", although further confirmation was required.[73] Stickler said Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a cardinal.[74]
Another account of the encounter, however, relates that Padre Pio simply referred to Wojtyła as "your holiness", a title used exclusively to address a pope.[75] Furthermore John Paul's secretary,Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction;[76] andGeorge Weigel's biographyWitness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, does not mention it.
Rossi described in Padre Pio a "very intense and pleasant fragrance, similar to the scent of the violet", but he was unable to determine its origin.[77]
He also confirmed to Rossi that a few times he "happened to feel inside [him] with clarity someone's fault, or sin, or virtue, of people of whom [he] had some knowledge, at least generally",[78] and that he had visions seen through the eyes of the intellect,[79] accounts of diabolical assaults and harassment against him,[80] and malicious visions under human and beastly shape.[81]
In the 1920s, the Vatican imposed severe sanctions on Padre Pio to reduce publicity about him, forbidding him from saying Mass in public, hearing confessions, giving blessings, answering letters, showing his stigmata publicly, and communicating with Father Benedetto, his spiritual director.
The church authorities decided that Padre Pio be relocated to another monastery in northern Italy,[82] but when the local people threatened to riot, the Vatican left him where he was. A second plan for his removal was also changed.[83] Nevertheless, from 1921 to 1922 he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.[84] From 1923 to 1931, the Holy See made statements denying that the events in his life were due to divine cause.[23] In particular, theHoly Office (the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) issued a formal statement in May 1923 that nothing supernatural had been proven about Padre Pio and warned the public not to rely on his claims.[85][86]
Eventually, as Luzzato states, Padre Pio came to be seen as a prisoner in his own monastery.[87]
A variety of examinations were made of Padre Pio over more than four decades to determine the origin and nature of his stigmata as well as other aspects of his life.
A large number of doctors visited Padre Pio to verify whether the stigmata were real. The first to study his wounds was Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the civil hospital of Barletta, by order of the provincial father superior on 15 and 16 May 1919. In his report, among other comments, Romanelli wrote: "The lesions on his hands are covered with a membrane that is reddish-brown in colour, without any bleeding, swelling, or inflammation of the surrounding tissue. I am convinced without a doubt that the wounds are not just superficial. When I press together my thumb on the palm of his hand and my index finger on the back of his hand, I clearly perceive that a vacuum exists between them."[88]
Two months later on 26 July, pathologist Amico Bignami arrived in San Giovanni Rotondo. He conducted a medical examination of Padre Pio's wounds and launched several hypotheses, among which was that they were a skinnecrosis hindered from healing by chemicals such asiodine tincture.[53]
Giorgio Festa, a physician, examined Padre Pio in 1919 and 1920 and was quite impressed by the fragrance of the stigmata.[89] Festa, as Bignami before, described the side wound as cruciform.[90] In his report of 1925 to the Holy Office, Festa arrived at a benevolent verdict with theological arguments playing the lead role, writing that the stigmata were "not the product of a trauma of external origin, nor ... due to the application of potently irritating chemicals".[91]
In 1920, FatherAgostino Gemelli—a physician as well as a psychologist—visited Padre Pio to carry out a clinical examination of the wounds. Castelli states that he was commissioned to do so by CardinalRafael Merry del Val,[92] while Luzzatto instead states that he did so of his own volition, with no interference by any ecclesiastical authority.[93]
Gemelli wanted to express himself fully on the matter and to meet the friar. Padre Pio, however, showed a closed attitude towards the new investigator. Refusing Gemelli's visit, he requested the written authorisation of the Holy Office. Gemelli's protests that he believed he had the right to subject the friar to a medical examination of the stigmata were in vain. Padre Pio, supported by his superiors, conditioned the examination on a permit requested through the hierarchy, without taking into account Gemelli's credentials.
Gemelli left, irritated and offended. He came to the conclusion that Padre Pio was "a man of restricted field of knowledge, low psychic energy, monotonous ideas, little volition",[94] adding the further criticism that the case was "one of suggestion unconsciously planted by Father Benedetto in the weak mind of Padre Pio, producing those characteristic manifestations ofpsittacism that are intrinsic to the hysteric mind".[94]
On behalf of the Holy Office, however, Gemelli re-examined Padre Pio in 1925 and wrote a report in April of the following year. This time Padre Pio allowed him to see the wounds. Gemelli saw as their cause the use of a corrosive substance that Padre Pio himself had applied to them. Because the Jesuit Festa had previously tried to question Gemelli's comments on stigmata in general,[54] Gemelli resorted in his report to drawing on his knowledge of self-inflicted wounds, clarifying his statements about the nature of Padre Pio's wounds: "Anyone with experience in forensic medicine, and above all in variety by sores and wounds that self-destructive soldiers were presented during the war, can have no doubt that these were wounds of erosion caused by the use of a caustic substance. The base of the sore and its shape are in every way similar to the sores observed in soldiers who procured them with chemical means."[54]
Once again, Gemelli judged Padre Pio's mental abilities as limited: "He is the ideal partner with whom former Minister Provincial Father Benedetto is able to create an incubus-succubus pair [...] He is a good priest: calm, quiet, meek, more because of the mental deficiency than out of virtue. A poor soul, able to repeat a few stereotypical religious phrases, a poor, sick man who has learned his lesson from his master, Father Benedetto."[95] Gemelli wrote in 1940 and several other times later to the Holy Office about what he considered unjustified claims to Padre Pio's sanctity.[96]
TheCarmelite Bishop ofVolterra, Raffaele Rossi, was formally commissioned on 11 June 1921 by the Holy Office to make a canonical inquiry concerning Padre Pio. Rossi began hisapostolic visitation to San Giovanni Rotondo three days later on the 14th with the interrogation of witnesses, twodiocesan priests and sevenfriars.
After eight days of investigation, he completed a benevolent report, which he sent to the Holy Office on 4 October, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. His report, extensive and detailed, essentially stated the following: Padre Pio, of whom Rossi had a favourable impression, was a good religious and the San Giovanni Rotondo monastery a good community. Although the stigmata could not be explained, they certainly were not a work of the devil or an act of gross deceit or fraud; neither were they the trick of a devious and malicious person.[97] During interviews with witnesses, which Rossi undertook a total of three times, he let himself be shown the stigmata of the then-34-year-old Padre Pio, which he viewed as a "real fact".[64]
In Rossi's notes and in his final report, he described the shape and appearance of the wounds. Those in the hands were "very visible". Those in the feet were "disappearing. What could be observed resembled two dot-shaped elevations [literally: 'buttons'] with whiter and gentler skin."[64] As for the chest, Rossi said: "In [Padre Pio's] side, the sign is represented by a triangular spot, the colour of red wine, and by other smaller ones, not anymore, then, by a sort of upside-down cross such as the one seen in 1919 by Dr. Bignami and Dr. Festa."[98] Rossi also made a request to the Holy Office to receive a copy of the material he had collected so that one day he could write about Padre Pio's life.[99]
According to Rossi: "Of the alleged healings, many are unconfirmed or non-existent. In Padre Pio's correspondence, however, there are some credible declarations that attribute miracles to his intercession. But without medical confirmation, it is difficult to reach a conclusion, and the issue remains open."[100] According toLucia Ceci, Rossi could not find proof of any of the attributed miracles.[101]
When Rossi asked Padre Pio about bilocation, he replied:[68][69]
I don't know how it is or the nature of this phenomenon—and I certainly don't give it much thought—but it did happen to me to be in the presence of this or that person, to be in this or that place; I do not know whether my mind was transported there, or what I saw was some sort of representation of the place or the person; I do not know whether I was there with my body or without it.
John XXIII was sceptical of Padre Pio. At the beginning of his tenure, he learned that Pio's opponents had placed listening devices in his monastery cell and confessional, recording his confessions.[102] Outside his semi-official journal, the pope wrote about concerns regarding Padre Pio based on reports of tapes suggesting "intimate and indecent relationships with women" from his "praetorian guard".[102] The pope himself, however, probably never listened to the tapes but assumed the correctness of his view.[103] According to Luzzatto, the Vatican had not ordered this wiretap. In another journal note, John XXIII wrote that he not only wanted to take action but had in fact also ordered another apostolic visitation.[104]
Father Carlo Maccari, secretary-general of the Diocese of Rome, met Padre Pio nine times altogether.[105] There was reciprocal mistrust between the two, and Maccari wrote in his diary: "Reticence, narrowness of mind, lies - these are the weapons he uses to evade my questions ... Overall impression: pitiful."[106] In his report, Maccari noted that Padre Pio had inadequate religious education, worked a lot for a man of his age, was not anascetic, and had many connections to the outside world. In general, Maccari saw too much mixing of the "sacred" and the "all too human".[107]
Maccari also noted in his report the names of the women who claimed at the time to have been the lovers of Padre Pio, but without assessing the veracity of their statements.[107] Maccari focused on assessing the fanaticism of Padre Pio's social environment, describing it as "religious conceptions that oscillate between superstition and magic",[108] and called Pio's supporters "a vast and dangerous organization"[109] who were never advised to moderation. He wondered how God could allow "so much deception".[110]
He finished his report with a list of recommendations for further dealing with Padre Pio: that the brothers of Our Lady of Grace should gradually be relocated; that a new abbot should come from outside the region; that no one should be allowed to confess to Padre Pio more than once a month; and that the hospital should be given new statutes to sever the responsibilities of the medical and spiritual "healing" Capuchins.[110] Following Maccari's apostolic visitation, John XXIII noted in his diary that he viewed Padre Pio as a "straw idol" (Italian:idolo di stoppa).[111]
In 1933,Pope Pius XI ordered a reversal of the ban on Pio's public celebration of Mass, arguing: "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed."[23] In 1934, Padre Pio 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, even encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio.
In the mid-1960s, Pope Paul VI dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio.[35][83][112]
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Padre Pio was a strong proponent of weekly confession, describing it as "the soul's bath". He established five rules for spiritual growth, which included weekly confession, daily communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and frequent examination of one's conscience.[113] He taught his spiritual followers that suffering was a special sign of God's love, for it made them "resemble His divine son in Hisanguish in the desert and on thehill of Calvary".[114]
In the confessional, Padre Pio was harsh to individuals who appeared insincere in their repentance, oftentimes dismissing them and refusing them absolution until they made things right in their personal lives.[115] In contrast, he was gentle to those who came to him sincere in their repentance.[116]
As time passed and cultural tensions grew between traditional and modern styles of dress, so did Padre Pio—a staunch advocate for modesty and authentic spirituality—more frequently dismiss individuals from confession for inappropriate dress. Eventually, his concerned Franciscan brothers hung a sign on the church door that read "By Padre Pio's explicit wish, women must enter his confessional wearing skirts at least 8 inches below the knees".[117]
Although Padre Pio was concerned about liturgical changes following theSecond Vatican Council, he emphasised obedience to the church.[115] On one occasion, Padre Pio met with Grazia, his blood sister—also a traditionalist but a former nun who left her order at the age of 70 because she was upset at changes made by her liberal superiors following the Council—he burst into tears and snapped at her over this decision, telling his sister: "They are wrong and you are right, but you still must obey. You must return." She refused, causing him to weep uncontrollably and continue praying for her.[118]
Following the publication of the encyclicalHumanae vitae, Padre Pio was distraught overcriticism aimed at it. He wrote to Pope Paul VI over this, affirming his obedience to the Church's teaching on birth control and reassuring the pope in his time of need. Padre Pio informed him that he would offer up his daily prayers and suffering for him, due to Paul VI's defence of "eternal truth, which never changes with the passing of years."[119]
AfterWorld War II, Pio's nephew Ettorne Masone asked Padre Pio for advice on opening a movie house. Padre Pio warned him to be careful about what movies he would show, saying, "You don't want to contribute to the propagation of evil".[120] Padre Pio was likewise cautious about the growing popularity of television, even as it became permitted among Capuchins by the 1960s.[121] Nevertheless, he participated in at least one televised interview for a local station before his death in 1968.[115]
In 2011, Luzzatto, a specialist in the history ofItalian fascism, wrote a biography of Padre Pio in which he suggested that a "clerical-fascist mixture" had developed around him.[122] Luzzatto also relays that in August 1920, Padre Pio blessed a flag for a group of local veterans who were trying to develop links with local fascists to fight againstcommunists.[123] Other episodes from Luzzatto's account revolve around Padre Pio's relationship with a fascist politician,Giuseppe Caradonna [it], who was a native of Foggia. Padre Pio served as a confessor to Caradonna and members of his militia,[124] and Caradonna mounted a "praetorian guard" around the friar to prevent any attempts to remove him from the monastery and transfer him elsewhere.[125]
Despite being generally unconcerned with politics, Padre Pio's attitude towards fascist leaders quickly soured asBenito Mussolini ushered a period offascism into Italy. When visited by one of Mussolini's messengers, Padre Pio yelled at him: "So now you come to me, after you have destroyed Italy. You can tell Mussolini that nothing can save Italy now! Nothing!"[126] Padre Pio was friendly to American soldiers stationed near San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II and thought highly of US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, whom he described as a "great man".[127] Padre Pio also expressed great concern over the spread of communism throughout his life and frequently prayed to help combat it.[128]
In 1948, in a letter written toAlcide De Gasperi, Padre Pio noted his support for the Christian Democracy Party.[127] Italian communists despised Padre Pio, as they blamed his influence for their losses in several general elections during the 1940s.[128] One communist spokesman grumbled that Padre Pio's presence at the voting polls had taken votes away from them.[127]
Following Christian Democracy's political victories in elections, Padre Pio was continually consulted by political Italian leaders includingAldo Moro,Antonio Segni,Mariano Rumor, andGiovanni Leone.[129] He received letters requesting his prayers throughout his life, including one fromKing Alfonso XIII of Spain in March 1923.[130] Padre Pio also prayed for various notable political figures, includingKing George V of the UK.
In 1963, followingUS President John F. Kennedy's assassination, Padre Pio broke down in tears. When asked by another priest if he would pray for Kennedy's salvation, he replied, "It's not necessary. He's already in Paradise."[131][132]
In 1982, the Holy See authorised thearchbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to determine whether Padre Pio should be canonised. The investigation continued for seven years, and in 1990, Padre Pio was declared aservant of God, the first step in the canonisation process. The investigation, however, did not lead to any public factual clearance by the Church about the allegations that his stigmata were not of a supernatural kind. Moreover, his stigmata were remarkably left out of the obligatory investigations for the canonisation process, in order to avoid obstacles prohibiting a successful closure.
Beginning in 1990, theCongregation for the Causes of Saints debated how Padre Pio had lived his life, and in 1997, Pope John Paul II declared himvenerable, the next step in the canonisation process. A discussion of the effects of his life on others followed. Cases associated with Padre Pio'sintercession were studied, such as a reported cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de Martino.
In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed and set 23 September as the date of his liturgical feast.[3] He celebrated the Mass for Pio'sbeatification, the last step on the way toward canonisation, on 2 May 1999 atSt. Peter's Square in Rome, with more than 300,000 faithful attending the ceremony.[133] In hishomily, the pope mentioned Pio's stigmata and other mystical gifts:[134]
His body, marked by the "stigmata", showed forth the intimate bond between death and resurrection which characterizes the paschal mystery. Bl. Pio of Pietrelcina shared in the Passion with a special intensity: the unique gifts which were given to him, and the interior and mystical sufferings which accompanied them, allowed him constantly to participate in the Lord's agonies, never wavering in his sense that "Calvary is the hill of the saints."
After Pio's beatification, another case of healing attributed to his intercession was examined, that of an Italian boy named Matteo Pio Colella who recovered from a coma.[135] After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree of canonisation on 28 February 2002.[3] The Mass for the canonisation was celebrated by John Paul II on 16 June of that year in St. Peter's Square in Rome, with an estimated 300,000 people attending the ceremony.[136]
Padre Pio was also the first person to be declared a saint by thePalmarian Catholic Church since it began its claim to the papacy after the Second Vatican Council.[137] Based inEl Palmar de Troya,Andalusia, Spain, the Palmarian Holy See canonised Pio of Pietrelcina on 12 September 1978, in theTenth Papal Document of the Palmarian popeGregory XVII, the entirety of which is dedicated to this singular event.[137]
The town of San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life, is the main pilgrimage site dedicated to his memory. After his death in 1968, the Our Lady of Grace Church, the church of the Capuchin monastery where Padre Pio celebrated Mass, has become a pilgrimage site for his followers.
As the number of pilgrims kept increasing over the years, the Capuchins decided to build a new shrine near the church. Its construction began in 1991 and was completed in 2004.[138] On 1 July of that year, Pope John Paul II dedicated theSanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, sometimes referred to as thePadre Pio Pilgrimage Church.[139] The sanctuary has a capacity of around 6,000 people and itsparvis has a 30,000 capacity.[140] Padre Pio's relics are located in the crypt of the new sanctuary and displayed for veneration.
The town of Pietrelcina, where Padre Pio was born and grew up, is another pilgrimage site which has become popular among his devotees. The sites that can be visited by pilgrims in Pietrelcina include his family house, where he was born; Santa Anna Church, where he was baptised, Our Lady of the Angels Church, where he was ordained a deacon prior to becoming a priest; the room in an ancient tower in which he stayed as a friar when he was ill; and the Capuchin Santa Famiglia (Holy Family) Church. It is estimated that around 2 million pilgrims come to Pietrelcina every year.[141]
Sanctuaries and places dedicated to Padre Pio's veneration outside Italy include the Padre Pio Shrine inSanto Tomas, Batangas, in the Philippines and the National Center for Padre Pio inBarto, Pennsylvania, in the US.
Various popes have encouraged popular devotion to Padre Pio in various ways, notably by visiting the places associated with his life and ministry. San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life and where his shrine is located, was visited byPope John Paul II,[142]Pope Benedict XVI[143] andPope Francis.[144]
John Paul II, even before becoming pope, had much admiration for Padre Pio when he was still alive.[145] As Karol Wojtyła, a young priest studying in Rome, he made a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo to meet him in person in 1947, returning there as a cardinal in 1974 and once again as pope in May 1987 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Padre Pio's birth.[142]
Benedict XVI visited San Giovanni Rotondo on a pastoral visit on 21 June 2009. He visited the Church of Our Lady of the Angels to venerate Padre Pio's relics in the crypt, celebrated Mass, and met with various people, including both the sick and the employees of the Home for the Relief of Suffering.[143]
Francis also supported popular devotion to Padre Pio. During theExtraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (8 December 2015 — 20 November 2016) he requested that Padre Pio's relics be exposed for veneration inSt. Peter's Basilica from 8 to 14 February 2016; and he specifically honoured him as a "saint-confessor" to inspire people to resort to thesacrament of Penance during the Jubilee.[146] On 17 March 2018, Francis visited both Pietrelcina and San Giovanni Rotondo to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Padre Pio's death.[144]
On 3 March 2008, Padre Pio's body 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 Umberto D'Ambrosio,Papal Legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated: "[T]he top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved".[147] D'Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that the stigmata were not visible.[148] He said that Padre Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped thatmorticians would be able to restore the face so that it would be recognisable; but because of its deterioration, his face was covered with a lifelikesilicone mask,[149] made from a 1968 photograph of his body by the London-based Gems Studio, which usually worked for wax museums and ethnological museums.[150]
CardinalJosé Saraiva Martins, Prefect for theCongregation for the Causes of the Saints, celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on 24 April 2008, at the church of Our Lady of Grace in San Giovanni Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silversepulchre in thecrypt of the monastery.[151] Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silkstole embroidered with crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. Eight hundred thousandpilgrims 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.[152][153][154] Officials extended the display through September 2009.[155]
Padre Pio's remains were placed in theSanctuary of Saint Pio and in April 2010 moved to a special golden crypt.[156]
Padre Pio's prayer groups began in the 1950s, when Pope Pius XII made a general request to form groups gathering monthly to pray together.[157] The friar responded to this call and encouraged his devotees to form such groups. These groups were associated with the construction of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza. A biweekly bulletin named after the hospital and published from 1949 helped the groups develop.[158]
In 1951, the first statutes of Padre Pio's prayer groups were codified.[159] They gathered monthly, with the agreement of the local bishop and under the guidance of a priest, to pray for the pope and for Padre Pio's ministries.[146] New statutes were formally approved by the Vatican in 1986.[158] The prayer groups are coordinated from their headquarters at the hospital.[146]
The prayer groups kept growing during Padre Pio's lifetime, and especially after his death and subsequent canonization. In 1968, at the time of his death, there were around 700 groups, with 68,000 members in 15 countries.[158] In 2013, there were approximately 3,300 registered groups in 60 countries, counting in total about three million members, with about 75% of the groups based in Italy, and the remaining based outside of it, mainly inFrance,Ireland, and theUnited States.[146]
Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints.[160] The world's first St. Padre Pio parish was established on 16 June 2002 in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada.[161] There are now otherparishes in the towns ofVineland andLavallette, New Jersey, in the US and inSydney,Australia. There are alsoshrines to Padre Pio inBuena, New Jersey, and Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines. A 2006 survey by the Italian magazineFamiglia Cristiana (Christian Family) found that more Italian Catholics pray for intercession to Padre Pio than to anyone else.[162]
A few months after his canonisation in 2002, a new TV station,Padre Pio TV, was launched in Italy dedicated to his life and devotion. Based in San Giovanni Rotondo, it broadcasts on its own website and various Internet platforms.[163]
Pio's remains were brought to the Vatican for veneration during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, 2015–2016. Saints Padre Pio andLeopold Mandic were designated as saint-confessors to inspire people to become reconciled to the Church and to God by confession of their sins.[164]
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was named the patron saint of civil defence volunteers after a group of 160 petitioned the Italian Bishops' Conference for this designation and the bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave its approval.[165] Padre Pio 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 also designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as the Monday closest to January 22, as "Don't Worry Be Happy Day", in honour of Padre Pio's famous advice: "Pray, hope, and don't worry."[4]
Some of Padre Pio's relics touredNorthern Ireland in 2022[166] andScotland in 2023.[167][168]
Padre Pio's iconography has been widely reproduced on devotional items and statues throughout Italy and the world, even before his beatification and canonisation. In Italy his portrait can be found in many churches, as well as in private homes and public places such as shops and restaurants.[4][169] In religious art, he is usually depicted in his brown Capuchin habit with gloves covering hisstigmata.
Statues of Padre Pio have been erected in Italy and in other countries, including the US, the Philippines, and Malta.[170][171] A statue of him inMessina,Sicily, attracted attention in 2002 when it supposedly wept tears of blood.[172] In Italy, near the coast ofCapraia Island in theMediterranean Sea, an underwater statue of Padre Pio was submerged 40 feet (12 m) deep in 1998.[173][174] In theSt. Padre Pio Shrine inLandisville, New Jersey, there is a statue of Padre Pio built in and imported from Italy.[175]
In 2021, construction of a new sanctuary dedicated to Padre Pio started on a hill overlookingCebu City in the Philippines, with a 100-foot-tall statue of the saint,[176] and in the same year, a statue of him was inaugurated in the Padre Pio Shrine in Santo Tomas, Batangas.[177]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The final Mass of St. Pio of Pietrelcina was celebrated in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie on September 22, 1968, the day before his death.
But while Italy argues about Padre Pio and the acid, Luzzatto's really important theses are about something different: For example, the pious Father openly supported the reviving fascist movement around 1920 and at that time a clerical-fascist mixture around Padre Pio arose.
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Padre Pio broke down and wept. When Padre Aurelio, equally distressed at the loss of a personage highly esteemed in Italy, asked him to pray for the dead man's salvation, Padre Pio replied: "It's not necessary. He's already in Paradise.
Padre Pio Canonized – June 16, 2002; Parish Established – June 16, 2002
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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