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Why build an ordinary everyday statue in commemoration of one of Catholicism’s most cherished saints, when you can build one that literally delivers rays of light to the people? Padre Pio has a special significance for Italian Catholics, who pray to him more often than to Jesus or the Virgin Mary, so perhaps it’s not too surprising that curators of his shrine have decided to build the kind of monument that will get worldwide attention: a 60-foot statue capable of collecting solar energy. Born Francesco Forgione in 1887, Padre Pio has a massive global following that is expected to pony...

On this feast of St. Pio I decided to revisit a homily I delivered earlier this year, when my parish dedicated a special chapel in his name. A snip: One of my favorite stories about him happened during the early 1960s Italy was in crisis. The Red Brigade was sparking violence in Rome, and it was considered dangerous to travel around the country. For protection, people began carrying pictures of Padre Pio. During this time, Padre Pio had to leave his village to visit Rome, and one of the other friars asked him, “Aren’t you worried about the Red Brigade?�...

During World War II, many Allied pilots failed to complete their missions over the Italian town of San Giovanni Rotondo. It seemed a Franciscan friar flying through the sky was staying their hands, preventing them from dropping their bombs. One aviator after the other testified to this otherworldly phenomenon, corroborating one another’s incredible tale of supernatural intervention in the midst of battle. The friar, of course, was Padre Pio of Pietrelcina — now St. Pio, whose feast the Church celebrates on Sept. 23. And the story, of course, is private revelation; Catholics are free to believe or disbelieve its veracity...

The main altar at the church where Padre Pio used to say Mass It was 1965.  My brother and sister-in-law (“sis� for short) had wanted to have a baby in the first five years of their married life but all attempts failed. Anxious and getting desperate, my sis agreed to travel to a then-sleepy town called San Giovanni Rotondo — about a four-hour drive from Rome, Italy — to meet Padre Pio, the Capuchin friar who bore the nail wounds of Jesus on the cross. She said, “I waited for three hours at the confessional room.  Finally, I saw Padre Pio motioning...

» 06/21/2009 12:38VATICANPope: a life of prayer and charity like Padre Pio, against activism and secularisation Benedict XVI visits San Giovanni Rotondo and proposes the characteristics of the Saint from Pietrelcina to capuchin monks, Padre Pio spiritual groups and all faithful. The Pope prays before the body of the saint. San Giovanni Rotondo (AsiaNews) –  “Simplicity”, humility and having been “seized by Christ”, the characteristics of Padre Pio, part of the inheritance he left his brother capuchins, the prayer groups inspired by him and all Christians, to combat secularism and activism: this was the pope's message during his pastoral visit...

  Shortly after World War II was over, a young Polish priest who was studying in Rome, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, visited Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. This encounter took place around 1947 or 1948. At that time in post-war Italy, it was possible to have access to Padre Pio, since travel was difficult and great crowds were not besieging the Friary. The young priest spent almost a week in San Giovanni Rotondo during his visit, and was able to attend Padre Pio’s Mass and make his confession to the saint.   Apparently, this was not just a casual...

Two men apologized Tuesday in Berks County Court before they were sentenced to state prison for stealing and destroying a brass statue of an angel from the National Center of Padre Pio Inc. near Barto in September. John E. Hammond Jr. and Jamie L. Custer admitted they cut the 8-foot-tall, 1,200-pound "Angel of the Roses" into pieces and sold them as scrap for $952. Hammond, 31, of Spring City, Chester County, was sentenced by Judge James M. Bucci to 21 months to six years in state prison. "I am ashamed and embarrassed," Hammond said. Custer, 31, Norristown, received one to...

St. Padre Pio Rome, Sep 22, 2008 / 12:39 pm (CNA).- In an article published by the L’Osservatore Romano, Francesco Castelli, a biographer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, has revealed details of the first investigation in 1921 by the Holy Office—now the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—into the life of the Italian priest and the authenticity of his stigmata.Castelli explained that the recent opening of the archives that contain the information on the first investigations show that it is not true that the Holy Office was suspicious of Padre Pio, but rather that there was admiration and...

The Communion of Saints--St Padre Pio's devotion to St. Gemma Galgani While Padre Pio's writings were being recently scrutinised in preparation for his canonisation on June 16, 2002, there came forth some accusations of plagiarism against the would be Saint. In May 2003, the Roman Jesuit magazine "La Civilta Cattolica" defended Padre Pio. Below is an article from Jesuit USA news http://www.companysj.com/sjusa/030613.htm#magazinedefendspio ___________________________________________________ Was Padre Pio a plagiarist? An influential Jesuit magazine in Rome has defended the Italian saint and mystic Padre Pio da Pietrelcina against charges of plagiarism. The Capuchin stigmatic was declared a saint in June last year....

Dottie Zimmerman is a 63-year-old mother of three, an award-winning religion teacher at a Toledo Catholic school, a former Ursuline nun, and a director of the Children's Theatre Workshop. For the last five years, Mrs. Zimmerman also says she has been "channeling" Padre Pio, letting the dead Italian Catholic saint mystically speak through her. It is a "gift," she said, and although she never asked for it she believes she must use it to help others, especially children. Last month, Mrs. Zimmerman channeled the saint during a meeting of the Toledo Lightworkers Co-op, a group of people who explore alternative...

Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet--I can count all my bones. (Ps 22:16-17) "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. " (Isaiah 53:5) Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.  The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you."  Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here,...

Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel   O most holy Virgin, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, you are the joy of the Church Triumphant, the help of the Church Militant, and the comfort of the Church Suffering. Therefore, extend, we pray you, your merciful glance on those numerous souls who suffer in the fires of Purgatory and free them, that they may be admitted to the beatific vision of God as soon as possible. Remember O holy Virgin, to help especially those of my relatives, and those who are most abandoned and devoid of help. O most merciful...

In 1947, a young Polish priest named Karol Wojtyla made the pilgrimage to a small town in Puglia to have his confession heard by Padre Pio, the mysterious Italian monk with the Christ-like stigmata wounds on his hands. It was that encounter — along with Wojtyla's belief that a prayer by the Capuchin monk had cured a friend's cancer in 1962 — that helps explain why Padre Pio was fast-tracked for sainthood once Wojtyla had risen to the papacy as John Paul II. But some may now wonder if the current Pope, the cerebral and professorial Benedict XVI, has the...

The exhumed body of Padre Pio, a saint considered a miracle worker by his devotees, attracted thousands of pilgrims on Thursday when it went on display 40 years after his death.Padre Pio is one of the Catholic Church's most popular saints and during his lifetime the Italian monk was said to have had the stigmata, the bleeding wounds of Jesus' crucifixion on his hands and feet.The economy of this southern town revolves around the cult of Padre Pio and heaving crowds waited to see his body, displayed in a crystal, marble and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the monastery...

ROME, March 3 (Reuters Life!) - The body of the mystic monk Padre Pio, one of the Roman Catholic world's most revered saints who died 40 years ago, has been exhumed to be prepared for display to his many devotees. The body of the Capuchin friar, who was said to have had the stigmata -- the wounds of Christ's crucifixion -- on his hands and feet -- is to be conserved and put in a part-glass coffin for at least several months from April 24. A Church statement said the body was in "fair condition", particularly the hands, which Archbishop...

SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy (CNS) -- The body of St. Padre Pio will be exhumed, studied and displayed for public veneration from mid-April to late September, said the archbishop who oversees the shrine where the saint is buried. Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, papal delegate for the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, announced Jan. 6 that he and the Capuchin friars of Padre Pio's community had decided it was important to verify the condition of the saint's body and find a way to ensure its preservation. "It is my personal conviction and that of the confreres of St. Pio that we have...

(ANSA) - San Giovanni Rotondo, January 6 - Plans to exhume the body of Padre Pio, the Italian saint famed for his perpetually bleeding hands and supernatural powers, are meeting vigorous opposition from some of his relatives. San Pio's niece, Pia Forgione, and her eight children have already begun legal action aimed at stopping the exhumation and a formal court appeal will soon be lodged, it emerged on Monday. Archbishop Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio has announced that the body of San Pio - who is still known to devotees as Padre Pio - will be taken out of his tomb...

The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, by the historian Sergio Luzzatto, draws on a document found in the Vatican's archive.   Padre Pio exhibited stigmata throughout his life, starting in 1911 The document reveals the testimony of a pharmacist who said that the young Padre Pio bought four grams of carbolic acid in 1919. "I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on 31 July 1919," wrote Maria De Vito. She claimed to have spent a month with the priest in the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, seeing him...

NEW LONDON, Conn. (Catholic Online) – Miracles, bilocation, wounds that bled like Christ’s – none of these amazed the Capuchin Friars who dined, laughed and worked with the Capuchin saint internationally known as Padre Pio. Canonized on June 16, 2002, Padre Pio impressed his brother monks not with mystical feats but with intensive prayer habits and a Christian example.“You cannot imagine how deeply he prayed,” said Brother Joseph Martin. “When he prayed, Padre Pio’s face looked like an angel’s,” said Brother Alessio Parente. “He would have conversations with God, just like you and I are doing right now.” Padre Pio’s...

September 23, 2006 Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, priest Psalm: Saturday 39 Reading 11 Cor 15:35-37, 42-49 Brothers and sisters:Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” You fool!What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.And what you sow is not the body that is to bebut a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. So also is the resurrection of the dead.It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious.It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.It...

To his thousands of followers in Italy and around the world he is the new Padre Pio. Like the country's ever-popular 20th Century saint, who displayed stigmata for the last 50 years of his life, Brother Elia is revered. With his face, hands and feet appearing covered in blood each Easter, he has earned celebrity status and his fans range from the country's poorest to World Cup-winning footballer Francesco Totti. Yesterday was supposed to be a chance for as many as 10,000 people, including visitors from Britain, to meet Brother Elia, 45, at the headquarters of the Jesuit movement in...

What Does It Means To Be Canonized. For many, even in the Church, the Catholic practice of beatifying and canonizing is an enigma. Why does the Church do it? How does the Church do it? What are the implications of being beatified, or, as is now the case of Padre Pio, canonized? General History. First it should be noted that according to the testimony of Sacred Scripture every Christian is a saint. The Greek New Testament speaks in many places of the hagios (Acts 9:32; Rom 15:25, 31; Eph 1:1; Col. 1:2; Jude 1:3 and others). The Latin Vulgate speaks...

St. Padre Pio during the Offertory of the Latin rite Mass according to the Traditional Missal.

IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004...

Padre Pio and the Guardian Angel (The following is extracted from a spiritual letter written by Padre Pio to his spiritual daughter Raffaelina in 1914.) "Beloved daughter of the heavenly Father,May the Grace of the Divine Spirit completely possess your heart and that of all those who wish to belong to Jesus! May Jesus also reveal to you the mystery and power of His Cross, completely inebriating you. May His Virgin Mother be the very one who obtains for you the strength and courage to fight the good fight; may your good angel be for you a breastplate to...

September 23, 2005Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina Psalm: Friday 41 Reading IHg 2:1-9 In the second year of King Darius,on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:Tell this to the governor of Judah,Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,and to the remnant of the people: Who is left among youthat saw this house in its former glory?And how do you see it now?Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of...

Hurricane Rita is due to make landfall at Texas late on Friday night into Saturday morning. Padre Pio, now a saint, is one of the greatest intercessors of our time. Please pray for his assistance in petitioning God for His mercy upon those who live in the path of Rita. Also, remember St. Rita, patroness of hopeless causes, much like St. Jude.

Vera M. Calandra, 69; built shrine to Padre Pio and promoted his cause. Vera M. Calandra, 69, formerly of Norristown, who helped promote the cause for canonization of the Italian Capuchin friar Padre Pio, died Aug. 19 of heart failure at her home in Barto, Berks County. In 1966, Mrs. Calandra gave birth to her fifth child, daughter Veramarie. The baby had severe urinary tract defects and was operated on several times by Dr. C. Everett Koop at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Koop eventually removed the child's bladder and told her parents that she could not survive. At the time,...

FORMER AIDE TO PADRE PIO SAYS THE SAINT HAD INCORPORATED PART OF THE NEW MASS An Italian priest who served as a liaison between the famed Capuchin St. Padre Pio and English-speaking followers says that the saint had incorporated elements of the new or "Novus Ordo" Mass into his own celebrations of the liturgy before his death in 1968 despite rumors to the contrary. The assisting priest, Padre Ermelindo Di Capua -- currently stationed in San Giovanno, Italy, where St. Pio spent nearly his entire ministry -- says the saint strictly adhered to dictates from Rome and sought information on...

September 23, 2003Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Psalm: Tuesday 41 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading IEzr 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20 King Darius issued an order to the officialsof West-of-Euphrates:"Let the governor and the elders of the Jewscontinue the work on that house of God;they are to rebuild it on its former site.I also issue this decreeconcerning your dealing with these elders of the Jewsin the rebuilding of that house of God:From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay.I, Darius, have issued this decree;let it be...

Saint Padre Pio's Body Not Found in His Tomb? by Anne McGinn Cillis An astounding piece of news has recently come to light, which very well might be the most spectacular of all the miracles attributed to the now-canonized Saint Padre Pio. [Padre Pio was canonized on June 16, 2002. His feast day is September 23.] Reportedly, an exhumation was conducted by order from the Vatican, preparatory to his Beatification in Rome on May 2, 1999, and overseen by Silvio Cardinal Oddi [+ June 23, 2001] and other required canonical witnesses. Padre Pio's tomb is encased in Italian marble weighing...

It’s been quite a week for Catholics! After an agonizing several months in which we were avalanched beyond belief with reports on the clergy sex abuse scandal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops finally delivered its Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People which must now be reviewed and perhaps tweaked by Rome. On the whole I think the Charter is a good and fair one. It eliminates abuser priests from priestly ministry, from representing themselves as priests, from saying Masses in public, even from wearing clerical garb. Of course much of the media---including some of the...

Padre Pio's remarkable transformation A poster of Padre Pio in St Peter's Square By Peter Gould BBC News Online Among Roman Catholics in Italy, he is said to be second in popularity only to Pope John Paul II. For years, he has been regarded as "the people's saint" and the monastery where he prayed is a place of pilgrimage. Yet the object of this devotion is a humble monk, who for much of his life was regarded with deep suspicion by the Vatican. His name is Padre Pio, and on Sunday he officially joined the ranks of the saints. The...