00:21The death of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina has caused deep sorrow in religious circles.
00:28passed away this night in San Giovanni Rotondo in the province of Foggia.
00:32As his religious name suggests, Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, born Francesco Forgione,
00:37who we see here in archive footage, was born in Pietrelcina in the province of Avellino.
00:42Since he was a child he had shown a clear religious vocation and in 1910 he was ordained a priest.
00:49He had immediately made himself noticed for his intense piety, the same that he had shown throughout his long life.
00:55he attracted tens of thousands of people to his confessional, faithful or skeptical,
01:00in search of faith or a revision of one's life.
01:04Exactly 50 years ago, on September 20, 1918, on his hands, feet and side,
01:11five sores had appeared that had never healed.
01:15Many claimed that they reproduced the wounds of Christ's crucifixion.
01:20In the immediate post-war period he had given impetus, with the financial offers that came to him from all over the world,
01:25to the construction of a clinic, the relief house for suffering,
01:29which today is not only the most important hospital complex in Puglia,
01:33but even with its thousand beds one of the most important in Italy.
01:37Another of his initiatives was the foundation of prayer groups,
01:41whose members had visited him last Friday.
01:44Today's Roman Observer notes that Padre Pio of Pietrelcina has been said to have special supernatural gifts.
01:51and the Church will pronounce on this in due time.
01:54We can only say, the observer writes again,
01:57that Padre Pio consoled and called countless souls back to the Lord,
02:00He reconciled with God men far from faith and Christian life
02:05and sometimes hostile and enemies.
02:08Thousands of people continue to flock to San Giovanni Rotondo from all over Italy.
02:12for the final farewell to Padre Pio.
02:14Mostly humble people, mountaineers from Gargano.
02:17The funeral vigil has continued uninterrupted since yesterday morning,
02:20since the friar's body was laid to rest in the church of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
02:25which hosted him for more than 50 years.
02:28During the night at least 2000 people stopped to pray around the leaves of Padre Pio.
02:52That night at least 2,000 people gathered in prayer around the Padre Pio scrolls.
02:54That night at least 2,000 people gathered in prayer around the Padre Pio scrolls.
03:17Thank you all.
03:38Thank you all.
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