Padre Pio
...ers and their recall to salvation." In the history of the Church there are about 325 recorded stigmatic cases. Some have thought that the Apostle Paul, who spoke in the Bible of bearing in his body the marks of the Lord-this Saint whom God used to write a major part of the New Testament-was also one of the first stigmatists of the Church. If so, Padre Pio was not the first priest to bear these marks of Our Lord. St. Francis Assisi, a deacon, is one of the best known stigmatists in history. Theresa Neumann in our own times had the marks of Our Lord and also lived for many years without any food other than the Holy Eucharist. St. Catherine of Siena had the invisible stigmata of Our Lord. Theresa Neumann and Padre Pio of modem times were repeatedly subjected to scientific medical studies, and no natural explanation could be found. The reported charisma of Padre Pio was not limited to the stigmata. He had the gift of bilocation (appearing in more than one place at a time), perfume, prophecy, the gift to speak other languages and to heal the sick. Padre Pio had unusual gifts for understanding and seeing into souls in the confessional, and people came from all over the world to confess their sins to this priest whom many considered of unusual holiness. If a person was insincere in his repentance, Padre Pio reportedly would detect the lack of repentance and send the sinner away until he had the proper dispositions of heart, that firm purpose of amendment needed for a good confession. Padre Pio knew, as every good priest, religious and lay person knows, that confession will not bring God's forgiveness and the restoration or increase of sanctifying grace, which is God's life shared, unless the person is truly sorry, willing to do penance, and promises God to strive not to fall into the same sin again. It was not unknown, then, for Padre Pio to refuse absolution to an insincere person. His purpose always, however, was to bring the person to repentance. This great and holy priest known as Padre Pio had a remarkable loyalty to the Holy Father, the Pope. On September 12, 1968, this Capuchin monk wrote a letter to the sorrowing Vicar of Christ on earth, Pope Paul VI. It is to be noted that Padre Pio, who held it as essential to Catholic faith to obey the Pope and accept his teachings on faith and morals as coming from Christ Jesus, is the same priest whom God used for such miracles as giving sight to the blind, reading souls, bilocating even to other countries, the gift of perfume even at great distances, whereby the most exquisite flowers were smelled as from his wounds. The author of this article has personally met people who claim to have unmistakenly experienced the perfume here in the United States before and after his death. Why did Padre Pio write that last letter to Pope Paul? He had heard of some theologians, priests, laity, rejecting the authority of the chief Vicar of Christ when he issued his encyclical upholding the traditional moral teaching of the Church, which ruled out artificial birth control, and impurity for married people. Crushed himself at such disobedience and disrespect for Christ's chief Vicar, as sin had always troubled and pained Padre Pio, who resembled Christ so closely, this holy priest of God, shortly before entering sufferings that would prove final, offered himself to Christ Jesus through the Successor of St. Peter at the Vatican. What did the stigmatist Padre Pio write the Pope just eleven days before his death and the regeneration of his 50-year-old wounds? He wrote of authentic renewal "according to the guides of the Second Vatican Council, in order to be always ready to attend to the necessities of Mother Church under the rule of your Holiness." This priest spoke of that renewal as a renewal "in the inner spirit." To the Pope, concerning the protest to his encyclical "Humane Vitae" (Of Human Life), Padre Pio wrote: "I know that your heart is suffering much these days in the interest of the Church, for the peace of the world, for the innumerable necessities of the people of the world, but above all, for the lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the high teachings that you, assisted by the Holy Spirit and in the name of God, are giving us. I offer you my prayers and daily sufferings as a small but sincere contribution on the part of the least of your sons in order that God may give you comfort with His grace to follow the straight and painful way in the defense of eternal truth, which never changes with the passing of the years. Also, in the name of my spiritual children and the Prayer Groups, I thank you for your clear and decisive words that you especially pronounced in the last encyclical "Humane Vitae", and I reaffirm my faith, my unconditional obedience to your illuminated directions. " The Pope answered this final letter from Padre Pio. The Pope's letter was postmarked one day before the stigmatist's death and it brought the Pope's Approval of the Padre Pio Prayer Groups that are now appearing throughout the world. In 1959 when his illness seemed fatal and his end near, the famed stigmatist priest was suddenly and miraculously cured at the visit of the Fatima Pilgrim Virgin Statue. (Padre Pio had deep devotion to the Mother of God and took a special interest in the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima.) Almost ten years after God miraculously snatched Padre Pio from the throes of death, this time the stigmatist offers his sufferings in reparation for the protectors against the Pope's Encyclical defending human life in its transmission and at every stage. This time God offered no cure but accepted the offering of Padre Pio's sufferings unto death. His last words were: "Gesú e Maria" (Jesus and Mary). What was Padre Pio's boyhood like? This much is worthy of note about his early school days. At the age of ten he was sent to a school where classes were conducted by a priest who had renounced his priestly vows and was living in an attempted marriage. The future stigmatist knew that his apparent lay teacher had left the practice of the priesthood for marriage. Under this condition the boy finished elementary school and entered the junior high level. However, his progress in school was undesirable. One day the young lad's mother, whose husband had gone to America to earn money so Francesco (later Padre Pio) could study for the priesthood, reproached her son severely for his lack of progress in school and for spending so much time in church rather than in study. The youthful Francesco, near tears in great anxiety, answered: "But, Mother, the problem isn't that I don't make any progress or that being in church prevents me from reaming. The problem is that he has been a bad priest." When Francesco's father learned of the situation, he wrote his wife that their son should be removed from that school. Years later, when Francesco was Padre Pio, his former teacher who had been "a bad priest" went to confession to his former student and died a good Catholic death two days later. What was the Mass like when offered by Padre Pio? It is reported by those who participated in this stigmatist priest's Mass that a keen realization was brought home to them that the Sacrifice of the Mass perpetuates the Sacrifice of the Cross. After all, the priest offering the Mass was bearing in his own body the wound marks of Jesus, which Our Lord suffered on the Cross. This holy priest from time to time during the Mass would fall into deep contemplative silence, making his Mass, even on week days, long. A trickle of blood could sometimes be seen to flow from the wounds in the priest's hands. Padre Pio would give evidence during the Mass as if he were carrying the Cross. His body would give visible expressions of pain. Sometimes the priest would weep as if deeply sorrowful at the world's sin and the suffering caused Our Lord. The wounds on his hands would be uncovered only during Mass; otherwise they were hidden by brown woolen mittens. Gazing upon the Consecrated Host, this priest's countenance would shine with his realization of the Divine and Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as a great peace radiated from his face. Those who witnessed in faith the Mass of Padre Pio retained its memory thereafter and a deeper sense of the meaning of Calvary. Padre Pio suffered not only in body but in spirit. For almost ten years, due to rumors against him, Padre Pio was placed under restrictions by the Holy Office of the Catholic Church with decrees whereby he was not allowed any visitors and could not write to his spiritual children. He had to offer Mass in private in spite of the crowds of thousands that wished to come to him. Finally, after detailed investigations, Pope Pius XI lifted the restrictive decrees in 1933. Few today would question that Padre Pio was a holy priest of extraordinary charisma. In a day when many claim to be Pentecostal or charismatic, this holy priest, again by 10 long years of silent and obedient sufferings due to unjust accusations, gives evidence that an authentic charismatic is one who is obedient to lawful Church authority. The certain knowledge in faith that the Holy Spirit is at work for the good of souls and the glory of God comes from respectful listening and obedience to the Voice of Christ in His chief Vicar on earth, the Pope. Padre Pio is a Catholic priest of our own times. His messages on angels, the devil, the Holy Eucharist, Our Blessed Mother, obedience to the Commandments, his endless hours in the confessional, unconditional obedience to the authority of Jesus as exercised by the Pope, the Resurrection, his witness to the Gospels--all acts of his lifetime, from boyhood to the age of 81, speak of a Christian and a man whose very life spoke of Jesus Christ. SUMMARY: As Padre Pio experienced the hatred of the devil in his life, he also experienced strength and help from the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel and other good angels. As Padre Pio advanced in years, he spoke lovingly of his guardian angel as ...