St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)

Their story

Francesco Forgione was born in 1887 in Pietrelcina, a small farming village in southern Italy. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans at fifteen, taking the name Pio, and was ordained a priest in 1910. Most of his life was spent at the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1918, while praying before a crucifix, Padre Pio received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side. He bore them for fifty years. These gifts drew enormous crowds, and for a time Church authorities investigated him and restricted his ministry. He accepted these trials with humble obedience. At the heart of Padre Pio’s life were the sacraments. His Masses were celebrated with such devotion that people felt they were standing at Calvary. He spent many hours each day in the confessional, sometimes reading hearts and helping penitents confess sins they had forgotten or hidden. He founded prayer groups that spread throughout the world and a large hospital, the House for the Relief of Suffering, to care for the sick. His simple advice is still widely shared: Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Padre Pio died in 1968. He was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002.