Saint Padre Pio .

1. Saint Padre Pio. By Emma Dwyer

2. Background • Padre Pio (baptized Francesco Forgione) was born to Giuseppa and GrazioForgione, in the small town of Pietrelcina, Italy on May 25, 1887. The Forgiones did not have much wealth and were poor in material goods, they were certainly rich in their faith life and in the love of God. • He stated that by the time he was five years old he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God. • His parents first learned of his desire to become a priest when he was 10 years old, in 1897 • When Francesco was in his teens, he was admitted to the novitiate of the Capuchin Order of the Friars Minor in Morcone, Italy. • He took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience • When he was admitted, he took the name of Pio in honor of Saint Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina, and was called Fra, for brother, until his ordination.

3. Priesthood • 3years into his journey to priesthood, he suddenly fell ill. He complained of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, and terrible migraines. • Padre Pio's health was so weak that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, hoping that the change of air would do him some good. But his health got worse and doctors advised that he return to his home town. Even there, his health continued to worsen. • After 6 years, Pio was ordained on August 10, 1910 at the age of twenty-three priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. • Padre Pio became the most charismatic holy man in the modern history of the Catholic Church, widely hailed as a saint during his lifetime and credited with at least 1,000 miracle cures

4. Stigmata • On 20 September 1918 Padre Pio had his first occurrence of the stigmata. • Stigmata are bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus • The blood that came from the stigmata was said to have smelled of flowers or perfume. This was often referred to as the odour of sanctity • The remarkable nature of his gift becomes more apparent when it is considered how much blood Pio must have lost, but even still, he did not die • With resignation and serenity, he bore the painful wounds in his hands, feet, and side for fifty years.

5. Other gifts • Other than the stigmata, God have Padre Pio many other spiritual gifts. • Healing • Bilocation • Being able to perform miracles • The ability to abstain beyond man’s natural powers from both sleep and nourishment • The ability to read souls • The gift of tongues (being able to speak and understand languages that he had never studied • The ability to see angelic beings in form

6. Padre Pio’s Miracles & Healings • One miracle that has been identified as Padre Pio's first miracle occurred in 1908. At that time he lived in the monastery of Montefusco. One day he gathered chestnuts growing in a nearby forest into a bag and sent the bag to his aunt Daria. She always had a great affection for him. The woman received and ate the chestnuts.  She saved the bag as a souvenir. A few days later she was looking for something in a drawer where her husband usually kept the gun powder. It was in the evening so she used a candle to light up the room when suddenly the drawer caught on fire, and aunt Daria’s face got burned. After a moment, she took the bag father Pio sent and put it on her face. Immediately, her pain disappeared and no wound or burn mark remained on her face. • Another extraordinary event happened in 1919 in San Giovanni Rotondo. A gentleman was 14 years old in 1919. When he was four years old he caught typhus. He also developed a side effect.  His back  became deformed.  Once he confessed himself to padre Pio who touched him with his holy hands. Suddenly the boy stood up and the  deformity in his back disappeared. • A gentleman, who came from Foggia, Italy, was 62 years old in 1919 and he walked using two canes. He had fallen from a carriage breaking his legs. The doctors had been unable to help him. After confessing himself to Padre Pio, the friar told him: "Stand up and go away! You have to throw away these canes. That man carried out the order and started to walk by himself again. All of the witnesses were astonished.

7. Padre Pio’s Gloves • Pio was embarrassed by the stigmata, and prayed to God that the physical marks would go away, but the pain remain. • Each day he covered up the marks on his hands with fingerless brown or black gloves (which he removed for mass) • Today, Padre Pio is no longer around and people find great consolation in his gloves, they are said to have the same healing powers as he did. • You can arrange for one of his gloves to be brought to your home or a hospital etc. to bless someone who is sick in the hope that they will heal thanks to Pio’s gifts.

8. Why I chose Padre Pio • I chose to do my project on Padre Pio because he has had a big impact on my family and I am so thankful for his gifts and abilities • My Grandad was seriously sick in intensive care in hospital a few years ago, they wouldn't even let me in to see him. My Mam had heard about Padre Pio and his gloves, so she decided to get one of his them and bless my Grandad with it. • I was a bit young to fully understand what was going on at the time, but my family didn’t think my Grandad would ever be able to walk on his own, or even breath on his own again. • After he was blessed with the glove, his conditions started to improve. It truly was a miracle. • Today, he is up and walking on his own, he is happy and as healthy as any man could be after going through what he went through. • My family and I believe that it was Padre Pios glove that healed and saved him.

9. Why I chose Padre Pio. • After researching Pio, reading about his life and about all of his different gifts, I have come to the conclusion that he was a great man. I also realised that he was human. Just because God had given him these special stigmata and gifts, didn’t mean he wasn’t human. He was embarrassed and insecure about the marks, so he covered them up each day and prayed that the physical evidence would go away. This insecurity made him relatable in a way. • I have experienced the effect that his gifts can have on so many peoples lives and I can’t explain how thankful I am to him.

10. The END. By Emma Dwyer