Also
known as Francesco Forgione ,Padre Pio of Pietrelcina ,Pio of Pietrelcina Memorial
23 September Profile Born to a southern Italian farm
family, the son of Grazio, a shepherd. At age 15 he entered the novitiate of the
Capuchin friars in Morcone, and joined the order at age 19. Suffered several health
problems, and at one point his family thought he had tuberculosis. Ordained at
age 22 on 10 August 1910. While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata
on 20 September 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed. As word spread,
especially after American soldiers brought home stories of Padre Pio following
WWII, the priest himself became a point of pilgrimage for both the pious and the
curious. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences
of those who held back. Reportedly able to bilocate, levitate, and heal by touch.
Founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves
60,000 a year. In the 1920's he started a series of prayer groups that continue
today with over 400,000 members worldwide. His canonization miracle involved the
cure of Matteo Pio Colella, age 7, the son of a doctor who works in the House
for Relief of Suffering, the hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo founded by Padre
Pio. On the night of 20 June 2000, Matteo was admitted to the intensive care unit
of the hospital with meningitis. By morning doctors had lost hope for him as nine
of the boy´s internal organs had ceased to give signs of life. That night, during
a prayer vigil attended by Matteo´s mother and some Capuchin friars of Padre Pio´s
monastery, the child's condition improved suddenly. When he awoke from the coma,
Matteo said that he had seen an elderly man with a white beard and a long, brown
habit, who said to him: "Don´t worry, you will soon be cured." The miracle was
approved by the Congregation and Pope John Paul II on 20 December 2001. Born 25
May 1887 at Pietrelcina, Benevento, Italy as Francesco Forgione Died
23 September 1968 of natural causes Venerable 18 December 1997 by Pope John Paul
II Beatified 2 May 1999 by Pope John Paul II Canonized
16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy Back
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