St. Padre Pio
Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born in the little town called Pietrelcina, in Southern Italy May 25th 1887. He was fifth of eight children. He had celestial visions and diabolical oppressions from the age of five years and he saw and spoke with Jesus and Our Lady and with his Guardian Angel, but unfortunately this heavenly life was interwoven with hell and with the devil.
This very important event occurred in Father Pio’s life on September 20, 1918, while he was praying in front of a Crucifix located in the choir in the little old church, when a strange personage like an angel, gave him the stigmata. Those stigmata have been remained opened and bleeding for fifty years. This was one of the reasons for which doctors, scientists, journalists and common people have gone to San Giovanni Rotondo for years, in order to meet the “Saintly friar “.
In September 1968, thousands of devotees and Padre Pio’s spiritual children were assembled in conference at St. Giovanni Rotondo to commemorate together the 50 anniversary of the stigmata and to celebrate the fourth international conference of the Prayer Groups. Nobody would have imagined that at 2:30 a.m., September 23, 1968 we the earthly life of Father Pio of Pietrelcina would end.
He had the gift of Bilocation:
Bilocation can be defined as the simultaneous presence of a person in two different places. Padre Pio had this charisma and had been seen by eyewitnesses in different places at the same time. Here are several testimonials.
One of the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was the Padre's appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of this incident visited the friary and found to his surprise the little friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni." (Source: EWTN)
In 1946, an American family went from Philadelphia to Saint Giovanni Rotondo in order to thank Padre Pio. In fact, their son, a bombardier plane pilot (during World War II), had been saved by Padre Pio in the sky over the Pacific Ocean. The son explained; “the airplane was flying near the airport on the island where it was going to land after it had loaded its bombs. However, the airplane was struck by a Japanese attack plane. The aircraft exploded before the rest of the crew had the chance to parachute. Only I succeeded in going out of the airplane. I don’t know how I did it. I tried to open the parachute, but I didn’t succeed. I would have smashed to the ground if I had not received a friar’s help who had appeared in midair. He had a white beard. He took me in his arms and put me sweetly at the entrance of the base. You can imagine the astonishment inspired by my story. Nobody could believe it, but given my presence there, they had no choice. I recognized the friar who saved my life some days later while on home leave, I saw the monk in one of my mother’s pictures. She told me she had asked Padre Pio to look after me.”
In 1956, Padre Pio served Holy Mass for Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary in his Budapest prison. Someone who had news of the imprisonment had asked Father Pio directly: “Father Pio you have served the Mass to the Cardinal of Hungary, so you have spoken to him! So you have been in jail with him and you have seen him!” - Father Pio answered: “Of course, if I had spoken to him I have also seen him”. He was bilocating.
He had the Gift of Levitation:
In his life, St. Padre Pio was a miracle worker. He also could levitate. On one occasion, St. Padre Pio levitated through the air in order to reach the Confessional without being seen and stopped. He immediately began to receive penitents. A man in the church was amazed how the priest had gotten to the confessional because so many people were outside of his door waiting to talk with him. St. Padre Pio said to him that God made him invisible and he walked on their heads to the confessional.
Supernatural knowledge
A lot of Saints of the Catholic Church possessed the charisma that allowed them to know distant things, or to view the future, or to see and to sense distance space using their senses and their normal intellectual abilities. Father Pio had the charisma of this supernatural knowledge. Just looking at a person he could see into the most secret parts of his soul. Many testimonies suggest this was the gift of Padre Pio.
One day at sunset, Padre Pio was in the garden of the monastery. He was chatting pleasantly with some of his spiritual children and others of the faithful, when he realized his handkerchief was missing. He said to one of those present, “Here is the key to my cell. Please go there and get me a handkerchief.” The man went to the cell but besides the handkerchief, he took one of Padre Pio’s half gloves and put it in his pocket. He could not pass up the opportunity to obtain a relic! But when he went back to the garden and gave Padre Pio the handkerchief, Padre Pio said to him: “Thanks, but now go back to the cell and put back in the drawer the half glove that you put in your pocket”.
A certain lady used to kneel in front of a photograph of Padre Pio every evening before going to bed to ask his blessing. Her husband, a good Catholic, thought that the gesture was an exaggeration and began laughing and teasing her each time she did so. Once he told Padre Pio about his wife’s habit. “Every evening my wife kneels in front of your photo and asks you to bless her.” Padre Pio answered, “I know, I know…and you start laughing.”
Because of the great crowds that went to see Padre Pio, two policemen were assigned to the convent to protect him. One day in the sacristy after the celebration of Mass, while Padre Pio was disrobing the sacred vestments, he turned smiling to one of the policemen and said: "As soon I have given thanksgiving for the Mass and you are finished here, come to my room because I have to speak to you." The policeman was very happy for this invitation so, when he ended his service, he went to Padre Pio's cell. Padre Pio told him: "Listen to me! In not more than eight days you will die at your father's home, my son." The policeman answered him: "But Padre, I am feeling very well." But Padre Pio added: "Don't worry about it! You will be better in eight days. What is this life? A pilgrimage. We are on a train, my son! Ask your boss to go on leave to enjoy your family...you are going to die...and your relatives??? They do not know anything about this..." The policeman, stunned by these words, asked: "Father, can I tell what you have told me?" "Not for now," the Father answered, "you can tell it only when you will be at home." The young man went to the town of St. Giovanni Rotondo and he asked for permission to go home. His boss did not want to grant him the permission because there was no suitable motivation. However, on Padre Pio's intercession, the policeman received the permission to go home. When the policeman reached his house, he told his parents: "I've come to greet you and Padre Pio has told me that I will die." After eight days the policeman died.
A lady said: “I wanted to take part in a trip to St. Giovanni Rotondo, in order to meet and to approach Padre Pio. It was the year 1961. A man in the bus suddenly cried: “My wife wanted me to bring her to this “impostor.” - The reference to the dear Padre Pio was evident, for that insult had struck me to the heart. When we arrived at St. Giovanni Rotondo, we immediately went to the church to take part in Holy Mass. At the end of the Mass, Padre Pio came toward us. When he was next to us, he stopped just in front of the gentleman who had insulted him on the bus and said: “Come here! Come to this impostor.” - The man became pale; he knelt, and stammering, he said: “Forgive me Father! Forgive me!” Then Padre Pio put his hand on his head and, blessing him, added: “Stand up, I forgive you.” That gentleman converted instantly to the delight of all present.
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