St Pio of Pietralcina (1887-1968) |
Pope St. John Paul II
canonized Padre Pio of Pietralcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th
canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul's pontificate. More than 300,000 people
braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter's Square and nearby streets.
They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity.
Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with
God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when
he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to
pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been
cured of her life‑threatening disease.
Born Francesco Forgione in 1887,
Padre Pio grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice (1898‑1903
and 1910‑17) his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family
income. At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins and took the name of
Pio. He was ordained in 1910 and was drafted during World War I. After he was
discovered to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. In 1917 he was assigned to
the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo. On September 20, 1918, as he was making his
thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision
ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet and side.
Life became more
complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities and curiosity
seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924 and again in 1931, the authenticity of
the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass
publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which
were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924. His only other
writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was done before 1924.
Padre Pio hearing confessions |
Padre Pio rarely left the
friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming
to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard
confessions until noon. He took a mid‑morning break to bless the sick and all
who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his
confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number
so that the situation could be handled. Many of them have said that Padre Pio
knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.
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