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White Double THE GREAT PATRIARCH OF ASSISI will soon appear a second time in the holy Liturgy, and we shall praise God for the marvels wrought in him by divine grace. The subject of today’s feast, while a personal glory to St. Francis, is of greater importance for its mystical signification. The Man-God still lives in the Church by the continual reproduction of his mysteries in this his Bride, making her a faithful copy of himself. In the thirteenth century, while the charity of the many had grown cold (Collect of the feast), the divine fire burned with redoubled...

White Double THE great Patriarch of Assisi will soon appear a second time in the holy Liturgy, and we shall praise God for the marvels wrought in him by divine grace. The subject of today’s feast, while a personal glory to St. Francis, is of greater importance for its mystical signification. The Man-God still lives in the Church by the continual reproduction of his mysteries in this his Bride, making her a faithful copy of himself. In the thirteenth century, while the charity of the many had grown cold (Collect of the feast), the divine fire burned with redoubled...

From a fascinating article by Frank M. Rega. 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...

The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi St. Francis of Assisi was the first to receive the stigmata or wounds of Our Lord on his body. FELIX TIMMERMANS St. Francis Receives the Stigmata from A Treasury of Catholic Reading,ed. John Chapin (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1957)St. Francis of Assisi was the first to receive the stigmata or wounds of Our Lord on his body. In 1224 he retired to La Verna with three companions and while praying on the mountainside beheld the vision of the seraph, as a sequel of which there appeared on his body the five wounds. Brother...

The Incredible Story Of Maria Esperanza By Michael H. BrownShe is widely regarded as the greatest living mystic. The miracles that surround her are vast -- among the best documented in Church history. Not since Padre Pio, the famous Italian priest now set for canonization, has there been a thaumaturge,  a "wonderworker," of her scale. She's a seer. She's a healer. She's a stigmatist. She often exudes an inexplicably beautiful fragrance. Some even claim to have seen her in levitation. I speak here of Maria Esperanza from Venezuela. We have had a number of stories about her, but never her background....

St. Catherine of SienaVirgin, Doctor of the Church1380 (April 30) From Lives of Saints with Excerpts from their writingsPublished by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc. New York,Nihil Obstat:  John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor LibrorumImprimatur:     +Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New YorkAugust 7, 1954St. Catherine of Siena receiving the Stigmata The Middle Ages were drawing to a close and the brave new world of the Renaissance was springing to life when Catherine Benincasa was born.  The place was Siena, and the day was the feast of the Annunciation, 1347.  Catherine and a twin sister who did not long survive were...

What is the Stigmata?FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERSI am so happy about Padre Pio being beatified. I know that he had the stigmata, but I have had some trouble explaining it to my Protestant friends. Could you please explain what that is and if any other saints have had it. The stigmata is the spontaneous appearance of the wound marks of our crucified Lord on a person's body. These marks include the nail wounds at the feet and the hands, the lance wound at the side, the head wounds from the crown of thorns, and the scourge marks over the entire body, particularly...

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 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...

The Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi Though the sacred stigmata St. Francis of Assisi bore the image of the Crucified.   Feast Day - September 17From the beginning of his conversion our Seraphic Father Saint Francis had a very great devotion and veneration for Christ crucified and never ceased to preach this devotion till his death. In the year 1224 as he was rapt in deep contemplation on Mt. Alverna Christ the Lord by a stupendour miracle imprinted the marks of his passion on the saint's body. Pope Benedict XI permitted the Franciscan Order to celebrate annually on this day...

St. Francis of Assisi October 3, 2007 The Wounds of ChristSt. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), one of the best-known and most loved saints of history, was the son of a wealthy merchant in the Italian town of Assisi. He was a carefree youth who enjoyed parties and extravagance. He was repulsed by lepers and didn't want to help them as some of his wealthy friends, such as Clare of Assisi, would. After he returned from a war, Francis became convinced of the need to find a deeper meaning in life. He gave away his and his father's riches, much...

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...

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...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A group of 86 evangelical Christian leaders are reportedly supporting a major initiative to fight global warming. Warning "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change," the leaders include the presidents of 39 evangelical colleges, aid groups and churches, such as the Salvation Army, and pastors of megachurches, including Rick Warren, author of the best seller "The Purpose-Driven Life," The New York Times reported Wednesday. "For most of us, until recently this has not been treated as a pressing issue or major priority," the Christian leaders said in a statement to...

She was born in Canada,is buried in Rhode Island. She was a young lady chosen by God ,suffered His passion,brought relief to hundres from their illnesses,loved the rosary and the Latin Tridentine Mass. Was she forgotten ,NO. She is loved by many,and many more hopefully will come to know of her. Little Rose magaizine, tells it all,the web shows more. Here you are invited to see and learn of the Passion of Little Rose,perhaps to bring up her life and times will bring aid to those who are searching for those who suffer,and draw them to understand how much Jesus...

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...

I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time now concerning people throughout history bearing the stigmatic wounds of Christ. I am a firm believer that the Shroud of Turin is indeed the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, and based upon that belief, I pose the following observations for discussion and feedback. Concerning the location of the five wounds as shown on the Shroud of Turin, with regard to the placement of the nails (through the carpal bones in each wrist at what is anatomically known as "the open mesocarpal space of Destot"), why is it...

Languages Visited: Launched 10/20/01 Counter by digits.com "The beauty I beheld transcendeth measure Not only past or reach, but surely I believe That only He who made it enjoyeth it complete." --Dante (Paradise, c. XXX, 19-21) St. Gemma Home Page Get a free St. Gemma Holy Card Footnotes / Credits Local Bishop's Approval Book on St. Gemma

"Unity Publishing - Come Home to the TRUE Mother of GOD" border="1" naturalsizeflag="3"> "The Miracle of Damascus" "The Book Medjugorje Centers Tried to Stop." [Now Available Online ONLY] Copy Right: JMJ Publishing (Rick Salbato)ISBN # 094142704=9Photographs from "The Miracle of Damascus" 1. Nicholas and Mirna Nazour with their son Emmanuel2. Nicholas, Mirna, John Emmanuel and Myriam Nazour3. The miraculous image of Our Lady of Soufanieh4. Mirna's home shrine5. Mirna Nazour of Damascus, Syria, mystic and stigmatist, at age 186. Mirna Nazour at age 267. The Nazour home in the Soufanieh (Christian) district of the "Old City"8. The roof of...