The curious story of Padre Pio

Padre Pio, Francesco Forgione, or also known as Pío de Pietreicina, was born in that town in Italy in 1887, within a humble family very devoted to the Catholic religion. Since he was a child he showed that he was pious and had no problem doing penance in the name of God.

His health was very fragile, he was always sick. From a very young age he wanted to be a priest, after meeting a Capuchin monk in the convent of Morcone, Fra Camilio, who stopped by his house begging for alms. The boy’s friends and neighbors testified that he suffered from “demonic encounters” and that more than once they saw him fighting with his shadow.

At the age of 16 he decides to become a friar. His teacher was Father Tommaso, severe but with a big heart, with great charity for the boarding schools. Life there was very hard, he had to fast for prolonged periods, and that changed his character and spirit. His illnesses increased and would never leave him. In 1904 he took his temporary vows and moved to another convent.

In 1907 he made his permanent vows and had to leave for another place, near the sea, something that did not do him good because his health worsened, so he had to return. In 1910 he settled in Benevento and in 1916 he was sent to the convent of San Giovanni Rotondowhere he lived until his death in 1968, 50 years after receiving his first stigma.

During his life he suffered a total of five stigmata all over his body., which correspond to the five wounds that Jesus had on the cross. He was bled for half a century, but he never became ill with anemia. It was also said that Pius had the ability to be in two places at the same time, that he could perform miracles and that he was clairvoyant.

In 1915 he felt severe pain in his feet, hands and right side. of his torso. Doctors could not find the reason for this ailment. Three years later, letting out a cry of agony and falling to the ground, she began to bleed in these places, the first stigmata appearing.

After regaining consciousness, he returned to his duties and the doctors began to analyze his case, but without finding the real reasons for what was happening to him. The authorities ordered that he be photographed so that the fact could be recorded.

In these images You can see Padre Pio with a great expression of sadnessvery pale, with a tired and tortured face, but also very ashamed for having to pose with his bloody hands.

Once the initial clamor had subsided a little, Pius returned to his monastery, where many times he felt transported by a great ecstasy which ended in these hemorrhages, which did not harm his health.

From there the fame of this man as a saint spread throughout Italy. Hundreds of people came from far away to meet him and to confess to him. Many of them said that the priest knew his sins before they told him.

Miracles of Padre Pio

The first miracles did not take long to occur. The first case is that of Gemma di Giorgi, who was born without pupils in her eyes. After the friar visited her he began to see, as if nothing. A doctor who was interested in their stories said that in several cases it could be a psychosomatic response to believing in Pio so much, but in others, not.

Among his strange “powers”, people talked about being able to be in two places at the same time. The best known case is by Monsignor DamianiUruguayan priest who in 1941 was visited on his deathbed in the city of Salto, Uruguay, by Padre Pio, even though he was in the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, in Italy.

This phenomenon, known as bilocation, was also narrated by the archbishop of Montevideo, Monsignor Antonio María Barbieri, who stated that on the night of Monsignor Damiani’s death an unknown Capuchin friar knocked on his door and informed him of the death. Seven years later The archbishop traveled to Italy to meet Padre Pio and, to his surprise, the same friar received him at the convent. that had woken him up that night.

The same thing happened during the war, when The Major Commander was thinking about committing suicide and this character appeared before him, telling him not to do it. When she convinced him, she disappeared as if by magic. The general entered a church where Pius was offering mass, waited for him to finish and approached him. The religious man told him: “You were lucky to escape, my friend.”

The controversy surrounding stigmas

What made Padre Pio most famous was the phenomenon of the stigmata. Around them, sand it is said that his blood had the perfume of flowerswhose aroma is associated with holiness.

The news that Padre Pio had the stigmata spread quickly. Immediately, Thousands of people came to San Giovanni Rotondo to see him, kiss his hands, confess to him and attend his masses..

Given the fame of the father, The Holy See sent a specialist in psychology to investigate the case of Padre Pio. It was the priest Agostino Gemelli, Franciscan, doctor of medicine, founder of the Catholic University of Milan and friend of Pope Pius XI.

When Father Gemelli left San Giovanni, Without even having seen the stigmata, he published an article in which he asserted that they were of neurotic origin.. After this statement, El Santo Oficio took the psychologist’s word and published a decree that stated that “the supernatural nature of the events is not confirmed.”

Later, andhe Bishop of Volterra, Raffaello C. Rossi, was formally commissioned by the Holy Office to carry out a canonical investigation into Padre Pio. Rossi began his Apostolic Visitation on June 14, 1921 in San Giovanni Rotondo with the interrogation of witnesses, two diocesan priests and seven friars. After eight days of investigation, he finally completed a benevolent report, which he sent to the Holy Office. In said report he states:

In the following years There were three other decrees and the last was condemnatory, and in which visits to Padre Pio or maintaining any relationship with him, even epistolary, were prohibited. As a consequence, Padre Pio spent 10 years – from 1923 to 1933 – completely isolated from the outside world.

The explanation

When Padre Pio died, The Catholic Church suggested three possible causes of the phenomena attributed to it: diabolical intervention, divine intervention and unconscious suggestion. He was canonized by John Paul II in 2002.

Believers say his gifts were extraordinary discernment (he read the conscience), the miraculous healing, the bilocation (being in two places at the same time), the tears (he shed them when praying the Rosary), the perfume (“smell of holiness”) and, of course, the stigmata ( exhibited for 50 years).

You might be interested…

Images courtesy of: Itto Ogami, Lowdown.