Padre Pio -The Saint
Padre Pio Father Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. He was given the name of Franceso Forgione. He came from a humble and poor family. Wanting to secure a proper education for his son, his father traveled to Brazil and United States to earn enough money. Although he was not a good student, he learned enough to move ahead. As a young child, Father Pio suffered from many illnesses. His physical ailments continued to plague him most of his life. From a very young age, Father Pio knew he wanted to be a Capuchin- a religious order that follows the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, and devote himself to a life of poverty and prayer. In 1910, he was ordained a priest. His name was changed to Pio. Early on, in his religious vocation, Father Pio demonstrated signs of having extraordinary spiritual gifts. He would communicate with Jesus, angels and saints. Additionally, he possessed the ability to be in two places at the same time- bilocation. In addition to all of the above mentioned, Father Pio was known to possess the gift of stigmata- the sacred wounds that Jesus had on the cross. These wounds would come and slowly fade away. This gift lasted fifty years. According to Rev. Jude Winkler, Father Pio greatest wish was to, “suffer for his sins and the sins of others so that they might turn to God.” Father Pio was the spiritual advisor to many. He was able to see and feel the suffering of others without getting direct information from the person. It is said that he received the information directly from God. In addition, Father Pio was a healer. One of many stories of his divine healing power occurred in 1949. A man, who was seriously injured by an explosion, had lost his right eye. A few days later, Father Pio went to visit him. When the doctors removed his bandages, they were astonished to discover that his eye had grown back. In September 23, 1968, Father Pio stepped out of his body and entered the kingdom of God. He was declared to be a Saint by Pope John Paul II in June, 2002.
Sayings of Padre Pio "Remember: the evil-doer who is loathe to do wrong is nearer to God than the upright man who hesitates to do good." "You cannot expect God to work wonders where there is no faith." "Fear is a far greater evil than evil itself." Prayer O my Jesus who has said: "In truth I tell you, ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you" here am I knocking and asking for your grace... The above information comes from a book called Counsels Exhortations Of Padre Pio Of Pietrelcina and Padre Pio by Rev. Jude Winkler
More on Padre Pio coming soon. Painting is work in progress.
|
