San Giovanni Rotondo - Italy
San Giovanni Rotondo is one of the most-visited pilgrimage destinations in Italy. Every year, several hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather here to pay homage to the memory of Padre Pio.
Francesco Forgione, the future Padre Pio, was born to Giuseppa and Grazio Forgione, peasant farmers, in the small Italian village of Pietrelcina on May 25, 1887. From his childhood, it
was evident that he was a special child of God.
When he was fifteen he was ready for the religious life and entered the Capuchin Novitiate at Morcone. He completed his studies and was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 23.
On October 20, 1918, whilst giving thanks after Mass, Padre Pio received the stigmata, and bore the wounds of the crucifixion of Christ for 50 years.
"On the morning of the 20th of last month," Pio said, " in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. All the internal and external senses and even the very faculties of my soul were immersed in indescribable stillness. Absolute silence surrounded and invaded me. I was suddenly filled with great peace and abandonment which effaced everything else and caused a lull in the turmoil. All this happened in a flash
"While this was taking place I saw before me the mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5th August. The only difference was that His hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should die and really should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest.
"The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday…"
Among his other gifts were perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading of souls, and miraculous cures. People are still being cured through his intercession in ways that cannot be explained by medicine or science.
Padre Pio died on September 23, 1968 and was declared a saint of the Church in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.