Feast Day: 23rd September

Patron Saint: Civil defence volunteers, Adolescents, Pietrelcina (His home town), Stress relief, & January blues 

Quote: “Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the Devil.”

Saint Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. His original birth name was Francesco Forgione which was given to him by his parents, Grazio Mario Forgione (father) and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio (mother). 

At age 5, he consecrated himself to Jesus. Then, when Francesco was fifteen years old, he was admitted to the novitiate of the Capuchin Order of the Friars Minor in Morcone, Italy. 

On August 10, 1910, at the age of twenty-three, Padre Pio was ordained to the priesthood.

Even at a young age, St Padre Pio was dedicated to the Lord. Before he was thirty years old, he had already reached the summit of spiritual life known as the “unitive way” of transforming union with God.

In 1915, Padre Pio was drafted into the Italian Military for medical service during World War I but was shortly discharged because of his poor health. His military service lasted 182 days. Even at war he did not alter his passion for God. 

On Friday, September 20, 1918, the marks of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appeared on Padre Pio’s body, while he was praying before a crucifix and making his thanksgiving after Mass. He was thirty-one years old and became the first stigmatised priest in the history of the Church. With resignation and serenity, he bore the painful wounds in his hands, feet, and side for fifty years. 

Despite being examined multiple times, there was no adequate explanation for the wounds.  “The stigmata were not like normal wounds or lesions: they would not heal.  This was not due to any medical condition, for he had undergone surgery twice (once for a hernia repair and once to remove a cyst from his neck) and the cuts healed with the usual scarring. In the 1950s, blood was drawn for other medical reasons, and his blood work was entirely normal. The only abnormal thing about his blood was the fragrant aroma, which accompanied that emanating from his stigmata.”

During his life he performed many miracles, such as healing, soul-reading, levitation and even bi-location. 

One of the most beautiful miracles of Padre Pio is the cure of Lello Pegna. A priest brought his friend, Pegna, a Jew, to visit Padre Pio in 1919.  Pegna was completely blind in both eyes.  The priest had brought him to Padre Pio in the hopes of his friend being cured.  Padre Pio told Pegna, “The Lord will not grant you the grace of physical sight unless you first receive sight for your soul. After you are baptised, then the Lord will give you your sight.”  A few months later Pegna returned baptised despite the protests of his family.  In the following months, his sight was fully restored. 

Saint Padre Pio understood the difficulties of physical pain and sickness, as he was frequently ill through most of his life. Starting with only about 250 beds and just enough equipment, the hospital he established is now known for its state-of-the-art facilities and services.

He died September 23, 1968, in San Giovanni Rotondo, aged 81. The Father Guardian of the Monastery stated ten minutes after Padre Pio's death that his last words were, “Jesus, Mary.” Showing that even up to the last minutes of his life, he was spreading the word of God. 

In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonised Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on June 16, 2002. 40 years after his death, Padre Pio’s body was exhumed from the grave in March 2008. Saint Padre Pio’s body was found intact and not badly decayed despite the years that have passed. His incorrupt body is now displayed in San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy. 

Written by Mair Norman (Year 12)