Francesco
was born in the small Italian village of Pietrelcina on May 25, 1887.
His parents, Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio, were peasant
farmers, but they recognized their son was close to God. When he was
only five years old, he solemnly consecrated himself to Jesus. It is
said he often spoke with Our Lord, Our Lady and his guardian angel, who
defended him against attacks by the devil. He joined the Capuchin
Franciscans at the age of fifteen, and took the name Pio with his
religious vows. After seven years of study he was ordained to the
priesthood in 1910.
During the same month he was ordained, Padre
Pio was praying in the chapel when Our Lord and His Blessed Mother
appeared and gave him the Stigmata. However,
the wounds soon faded and then disappeared. “I do want to suffer, even
to die of suffering,” Padre Pio told Our Lady, “but all in secret." Soon
after, he experienced the first of his spiritual ecstasies.
Pio
was in the military for a short time, but was discharged due to poor
health. Upon his return to the monastery, he became a spiritual
director. He had five rules for spiritual growth: weekly confession,
daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of
conscience. He often advised, "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry."
In
July of 1918, Padre Pio received the visible Stigmata, the five wounds
of Christ (hands, feet and side), after offering himself as a victim for
the end of the war. By 1933, the holy priest was recognized by the
Church and by 1934 had attracted thousands of pilgrims that attended his
masses and frequented his confessional.
On September 23, 1968,
Padre Pio said his final Mass, renewed his vows of poverty, chastity,
and obedience and died in his cell after suffering from grave physical
decline. Before his death, Padre Pio orchestrated and oversaw the
building of the “House for the Alleviation of Suffering,” a 350-bed
medical and religious center.
He was canonized on June 16, 2002. An estimated 300,000 people attended the canonization ceremony.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
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