This Thursday, September 22nd autumn will arrive. Summer 2022 will be officially over. I hope you and your family had a relaxing summer as now all the organizations are in full swing along with the beginning of St. Margaret’s School and PREP. Religious Education of all Catholics is vital. We can never exhaust our knowledge of God, His Divine Son and the bride of Christ, the Church. Students who attend Public School should attend our PREP program from grades 1-8. I would like to institute this year, an adult religious education forum, with Bible studies, lectures on religious topics etc. More information will be forthcoming.
Friday is also the feast day of one of the most popular saints in our world today. He was born on May 25, 1887 in the region of Campania, Italy. His given name was Francesco Forgione. He grew up to become Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (PadrePio).
At the age of 15, he entered the Capuchin Novitiate in Morcone, Italy and given the name Brother Pio. Six years later he was ordained a priest in the Cathedral in Benevento. Padre Pio was a sickly man and he was transferred to ‘Our Lady of Grace’ Monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo. He was drafted by the military, but was discharged early for health reasons. He returned to the monastery and became a Spiritual Director, guiding many spiritually, considering them his spiritual sons and daughters. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation and examination of conscience. His advice was always very practical: "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry" . He recognized God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God
On September 20, 1918, Padre Pio received the visible stigmata while praying before a crucifix in the Monastery Church. He became the first priest in the history of the Catholic Church to bear the stigmata. Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain bearing the 5 crucifixion wounds of Christ. The term originates from the Letter to the Galations, where St. Paul writes, "I bear on my body the stígmata of Jesus" - stigmata is the plural of the Greek word, stígma, a mark or brand such as might have been used for identification of an animal or slave. St. Francis of Assisi was the first official recognized stigmatic of the Church. Other saints have been acknowledged to bear the stigmata throughout the history of the Church.
As Padre Pio's fame grew, many pilgrims flocked to see him and he spent around nineteen hours each day celebrating Mass, listening to confessions and corresponding, often sleeping not even two hours per day. Sadly, many false accusations were made against him. He suffered greatly because of these false accusations including insanity, immorality; misuse of funds and deception - claims that the stigmata were induced with acid in order to gain fame and money.
Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations. Fearing local riots, a plan to transfer Padre Pio to another friary was dropped and a second plan was abandoned when a riot almost happened. In the period from 1924 to 1931 the Vatican made various statements denying that the happenings in the life of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause. At one point, he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.
By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pius XI ordering the reversal of its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass. In 1934, he was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given honorary permission to preach.
Then in 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo dellaSofferenza or "Home to Relieve Suffering"; the hospital opened in 1956. Padre Pio's detractors again used this project as another weapon to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of funds.
It wasn’t until Pope Paul VI who firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio in the mid 1960’s. Padre Pio died on September 23, 1968. Ten minutes after Padre Pio's death, all traces of the stigmata on his hands, feet and side, had disappeared. His funeral was attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." Many American soldiers during WWII met Padre Pio and went to him for confession.
On June 16, 2002, Pope St. John Paul II canonized Padre Pio with the largest crowd ever to see a saint proclaimed in the modern era.
We invoke Padre Pio to be our protector and guide in this journey of life.