99 Facts About Padre Pio

Padre Pio joined the Capuchins when he was fifteen and spent most of his religious life in the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo.

Padre Pio was marked by stigmata in 1918, leading to several investigations by the Holy See.

Padre Pio was the founder of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a hospital built near the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo.

Padre Pio was beatified on 2 May 1999 and canonized on 16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II.

Padre Pio's relics are exposed in the sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, next to the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, now a major pilgrimage site.

Padre Pio was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle.

Padre Pio later served as an altar boy in this same chapel.

Padre Pio had an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia.

Padre Pio's parents had two other children who died in infancy.

Padre Pio stated that by the time he was five years old, he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God.

Padre Pio worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned.

Padre Pio underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements.

Padre Pio took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Padre Pio vomited frequently and could digest only milk and cheese.

In June 1905, Padre Pio's health worsened to such an extent that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him good.

Padre Pio's health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family in his hometown of Pietrelcina while still retaining the Capuchin habit.

Padre Pio stayed in Pietrelcina until 1916, due to his health and the need to take care of his family when his father and brother briefly emigrated to the United States.

On 4 September 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return to his community life.

Padre Pio moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in the Province of Foggia.

Padre Pio remained at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death in 1968, except for a period of military service.

Padre Pio compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and in the evening, as retrospection.

Padre Pio directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.

Padre Pio's mother died in the village around the convent in 1928.

Later, in 1938, Padre Pio had his elderly father Grazio live with him.

Padre Pio's father lived in a little house outside the convent, until his death in 1946.

At that time, Padre Pio was a teacher and spiritual director at the seminary.

When one more friar was called into service, Padre Pio was put in charge of the community.

In September 1918, Padre Pio began to display permanent wounds on his hands and feet, known as stigmata in reference to Christ's wounds.

Padre Pio became a spiritual director, and developed five rules for spiritual growth: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.

Some of Padre Pio's detractors have subsequently suggested there had been misappropriation of funds.

Padre Pio's health deteriorated in the 1960s, but he continued his spiritual works.

On 22 September 1968, Padre Pio celebrated the Mass to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his receiving the stigmata, with a huge crowd of pilgrims present to celebrate the event as well as television crews.

Padre Pio carried out his duties, but appeared extremely weak and frail.

Padre Pio's voice was weak, and, after the Mass had concluded, he nearly collapsed while walking down the altar steps.

Early in the morning of 23 September 1968, Padre Pio made his last confession and renewed his Franciscan vows.

Padre Pio's body was placed in a coffin in the church of the monastery to allow pilgrims to pay their respects.

Padre Pio was said to have had mystical gifts such as reading souls, the ability to bilocate and the ability to work favours and healings before they were requested of him.

Padre Pio's reported supernatural experiences include celestial visions, communication with angels and physical fights with Satan and demons.

The reports of supernatural phenomena surrounding Padre Pio attracted fame and amazement, even if the Vatican seemed sceptical.

Padre Pio wrote in his letters that, early in his priesthood, he experienced bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations indicative of the stigmata.

Luzzatto claims that in this letter Padre Pio uses unrecognized passages from a book by the stigmatized mystic Gemma Galgani.

Padre Pio replied that he had had visions since his novitiate period and that he was stigmatic, adding that he had been so terrified by the phenomenon that he begged God to withdraw his stigmata.

Padre Pio wrote that he did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation.

On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Padre Pio is said to have had a reappearance of the physical occurrence of the stigmata.

Padre Pio conveyed to Agostino that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances.

Padre Pio often wore red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet, saying that he was embarrassed by the marks.

Some critics accused Padre Pio of faking the stigmata, for example by using carbolic acid to make the wounds.

Maria De Vito testified that the young Padre Pio bought carbolic acid and the great quantity of four grams of veratrine "without presenting any medical prescription whatsoever" and "in great secret".

Padre Pio later claimed that this experience left a physical wound on his left side.

Padre Pio was believed by his followers to have the gift of bilocation, the ability to be in two places at the same time.

Padre Pio replied that he had intellectual visions seen through the eyes of the intellect, accounts of diabolical assaults and harassment against him, malicious visions under human shape and beastly shape, and Padre Pio confirmed to Rossi: "A very few times I happened to feel inside me with clarity someone's fault, or sin, or virtue, of people of whom I had some knowledge, at least generally".

The church authorities decided that Padre Pio be relocated to another convent in northern Italy.

From 1924 to 1931, the Holy See made statements denying that the events in Padre Pio's life were due to any divine cause.

Padre Pio was obviously impressed by the fragrance of the stigmata.

Padre Pio wrote the stigmata "are not the product of a trauma of external origin, nor are they due to the application of potently irritating chemicals".

Padre Pio showed a closed attitude towards the new investigator: he refused the visit requesting the written authorization of the Holy Office.

Gemelli saw as its cause the use of a corrosive substance Padre Pio had applied himself to these wounds.

The extensive and detailed report essentially stated the following: Padre Pio, of whom Rossi had a favourable impression, was a good religious and the San Giovanni Rotondo convent was a good community.

At the beginning of his tenure, he learned that Father Padre Pio's opponents had placed listening devices in his monastery cell and confessional, recording his confessions with tape.

Padre Pio is not an ascetic and has many connections to the outside world.

Padre Pio was given honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching license.

Padre Pio was a strong proponent of weekly confession, describing it as "the soul's bath".

Padre Pio established five rules for spiritual growth, which included weekly confession, daily communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and frequent examination of one's conscience.

Padre Pio held to strict rules concerning modesty, and refused confession to women who did not wear skirts that extended a minimum of 8 inches past the knees.

On one occasion, Padre Pio met with Suor Pia, his sister and a former nun who left her order following the council.

Padre Pio wrote to Pope Paul VI over this, affirming his obedience to the Church's teaching on birth control and reassuring Paul VI in his time of need.

Padre Pio became exceedingly pessimistic about the state of the world towards the end of his life.

Padre Pio was not especially concerned with politics, but voted in Italian elections and voiced his opinions on various issues.

Padre Pio initially felt that Benito Mussolini had done a good job during his rule, but his feelings toward Mussolini quickly became negative as time passed.

Additionally, Padre Pio expressed great concern over the spread of communism during his life and frequently prayed to help combat it.

In 1948, in a letter written to Alcide De Gasperi, Padre Pio noted his support for the Christian Democracy party.

Padre Pio's involvement is attributed to having helped the party win elections, with Italian communists hating Padre Pio for it.

Padre Pio received letters requesting his prayers throughout his life, including one from Alfonso XIII in March 1923.

In 1963, following the assassination of John F Kennedy, Pio broke down in tears.

Luzzatto relates that in August 1920, on the feast of the Assumption, Padre Pio blessed a flag for a group of local veterans who were trying to develop links with local fascists to fight against communists.

Padre Pio suggests that Caradonna mounted a "praetorian guard" around Padre Pio to prevent any attempts to remove him from the monastery and transfer him elsewhere.

In 1982, the Holy See authorized the archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to determine whether Padre Pio should be canonized.

In 1990, Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the process of canonization.

In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed and set 23 September as the date of his liturgical feast.

Padre Pio was the first person to be declared a saint by the Palmarian Catholic Church since it began its claim to the Papacy.

The town of San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life, is the main pilgrimage site dedicated to his memory.

The Santa Maria delle Grazie Church, which is the church of the Capuchin monastery where Padre Pio celebrated Mass, has become a pilgrimage site for his followers after his death in 1968.

The relics of Padre Pio are located in the crypt of the new sanctuary and displayed for veneration by the pilgrims.

The town of Pietrelcina, where Padre Pio grew up, is another pilgrimage site which became popular among devotees.

The sites which can be visited by pilgrims in Pietrelcina include Padre Pio's family house where he was born, his room in an ancient tower in which he stayed as a friar when he was ill, the Santa Anna Church where he was baptized, the Santa Maria degli Angeli Church, where he was ordained a deacon prior to becoming a priest, and the Capuchin Church of the Holy Family.

San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life and where his shrine is located, was visited by Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Padre Pio returned to San Giovanni Rotondo as a cardinal, in 1974.

Padre Pio visited San Giovanni Rotondo again in May 1987 as Pope John Paul II, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Padre Pio's birth.

Padre Pio visited the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church to venerate of the relics of Padre Pio in the crypt, celebrated Mass and met with various people, including with the sick and the employees of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza.

On 3 March 2008, the body of Padre Pio was exhumed from his crypt, forty years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display.

Padre Pio said that Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure".

Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with crystals and gold thread.

Padre Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Padre Pio, which is beside San Giovanni Rotondo.

Padre Pio responded to this call and encouraged his devotees to form such groups.

Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints.

Some of Padre Pio's relics toured Northern Ireland in 2022 and Scotland in 2023.

Padre Pio's iconography has been widely reproduced on devotional items and statues throughout Italy and the world, even before his beatification and canonization.

Statues of Padre Pio have been erected in Italy and in other countries, including in the United States, the Philippines and Malta.

In 2021, the construction of a new sanctuary dedicated to Padre Pio started on a hill overlooking Cebu City, in the Philippines, with a 100-foot-tall statue of Padre Pio.