00:00Today, September 23, the church celebrates Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio.
00:08He is one of the most beloved saints of the 20th century, venerated far beyond Italy, throughout the world.
00:15With him, holiness becomes close, palpable, embodied in a simple man, but one traversed by the mysteries of God.
00:23Padre Pio was born in 1887, in the small village of Pietrelcina, in southern Italy.
00:31His parents, poor peasants, lived on little, but passed on to him a strong faith.
00:37From his childhood, Francesco Forgione, as he was baptized, showed a deep attraction to prayer, the Mass and the things of God.
00:48He prayed the rosary every day and already showed a contemplative soul.
00:52At the age of 16, he joined the Capuchins and took the name Brother Pio.
00:57But from the beginning, he was marked by illness.
01:00Fragile health and chronic pain that will never leave him.
01:05Yet he bore his sufferings with patience, offering them in union with the crucified Christ.
01:11Ordained a priest in 1910, he devoted himself to a humble life, between confessional, prayer and spiritual direction.
01:19It was in 1918 that his life took a dramatic turn.
01:26While praying before the crucifix, he received the stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ's passion.
01:33His hands, feet and side were marked by painful wounds that bled regularly.
01:38This mysterious and unique phenomenon attracted worldwide attention.
01:44Many doubted or criticized, but doctors confirmed the authenticity of the wounds without scientific explanation.
01:54Padre Pio bore his stigmata for 50 years.
01:57From then on, crowds flocked to his convent of San Giurani Rotondo.
02:03Padre Pio became a living sign of the suffering Christ.
02:07But it wasn't just the stigma that drew the crowds.
02:11It was above all his charisma as a confessor.
02:15Thousands of pilgrims came to confess to him.
02:19He sometimes spent up to 16 hours a day in the confessional,
02:22welcoming everyone with patience, discernment and an inner light that pierced souls.
02:31Many testified that they read their hearts,
02:34revealing forgotten sins or secret wounds,
02:38always to lead towards mercy.
02:42Padre Pio was also a man of spiritual combat.
02:46He experienced terrible struggles with the demon who, he said, physically attacked him at night.
02:52But he maintained an unshakeable faith in the power of God.
02:57His life was punctuated by the mass,
03:00celebrated with extraordinary intensity,
03:03the rosary that he prayed without ceasing
03:05and the offering of his sufferings for sinners.
03:10At the same time, he had a great charitable heart.
03:12With the help of his followers, he founded an immense work,
03:17the house of relief from suffering,
03:19a modern and humane hospital for poor patients.
03:25This establishment still exists today,
03:28perpetuating his legacy.
03:30Padre Pio died on September 23, 1968,
03:34at the age of 81,
03:35exactly 50 years after receiving the stigmata.
03:40His last words were simple and tender.
03:43Jesus,
03:45Married.
03:48His death plunged Italy into great emotion.
03:52Thousands of people flocked to pay their respects.
03:54Very quickly, popular devotion was inflamed.
04:00He was beatified in 1999,
04:03then canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II
04:05in front of a huge crowd in Rome.
04:09Even today,
04:11his sanctuary of San Giovanni Lottondo
04:13attracts millions of pilgrims every year.
04:16Padre Pio is a moving witness for us.
04:20He reminds us that holiness does not consist of human exploits,
04:23but in intimate union with Christ even in suffering.
04:28He teaches us the power of confession,
04:31of the Eucharist and persevering prayer.
04:36O Saint Padre Pio,
04:38you who bore in your body the wounds of Christ,
04:41you who dedicated your life to prayer and mercy,
04:44intercede for us with the Lord.
04:47Help us rediscover the grace of forgiveness in confession.
04:50Give us the strength to love in suffering
04:54and to always keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and Mary.
04:59Saint Padre Pio,
05:00accompany us in our trials
05:02and lead us on the path of holiness.
05:05Amen.
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