Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
The Capuchin of San Giovanni Rotondo who founded Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza hospital
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Priest, Mystic, Religious
- Life
- 1887 – 1968
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 23 September
- Countries
- Italy
Life story
Francesco Forgione, later Padre Pio, was born on 25 May 1887 at Pietrelcina, near Benevento in southern Italy, into a farming family. In 1903 he entered the Capuchin Friars Minor and took the name Pio. He was ordained priest on 10 August 1910 and, because of poor health, spent some time afterwards with his family.
From 1916 he lived at the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo on the Gargano plateau. In September 1918 his confreres and several witnesses recorded that he bore wounds resembling the marks of the Passion; the phenomenon led to repeated examinations and much debate during his lifetime, and people came to see him from many places.
In the 1920s and 1930s the Holy See imposed several restrictions on his ministry, including the public celebration of Mass and the hearing of confessions. These were gradually lifted. Padre Pio promoted prayer groups, and in 1956 the hospital Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (the House for the Relief of Suffering) opened at San Giovanni Rotondo.
He died on 23 September 1968 at the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo. John Paul II beatified him in 1999 and canonised him on 16 June 2002. Many thousands of people wrote to him and travelled to the Gargano to attend his Mass or to confess. The prayer groups he encouraged spread across Italy and abroad, and his tomb at San Giovanni Rotondo is today a major pilgrimage destination.
Works and witness
- Ordained in 1910 and lived at San Giovanni Rotondo from 1916
- According to many witnesses, bore the stigmata from September 1918
- Was subject to Holy See restrictions on his ministry in the 1920s and 1930s
- Founded the hospital Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, opened in 1956
Patron of
Italian civil defence volunteers
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
- Positio super virtutibus of Pio of Pietrelcina
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.