His Youth (1887 – 1903)

St. Pio – Francesco Forgione in the world – was born in Pietrelcina, in the province of Benevento, the fourth of seven children, on 25 May 1887, to Grazio Mario Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio. Baptized the day after he was born, he spent his childhood and early youth in his native land, in a rural, serene and tranquil environment, his life based around the three poles of home, church and school. When he was 12 years old, on 27 September 1899, he received the sacrament of Confirmation and made his firt Holy Communion. In around 1892, at the age of five, he thought about devoting himself to God forever.

One of his spiritual directors, Capuchin Father Agostino Daniele, revealed this to us in his diary, in which he wrote: “The ecstasies and apparitions began at five years of age, when he thought and felt he should devote himself to the Lord fore ever.”

And his other spiritual director, Father Benedetto Nardella, in some of his notes, explains: “At around five years of age he felt the need to give himself completely to God. At five or six years old, the Heart of Jesus appeared at the high altar: he signaled that he was approaching the altar and placed his hand on his head, as a sign of acceptance and confirmation that he was offering himself to Him and would dedicate himself to His love. He felt resolution strongly and his growing ardor to love Him and give himself to Him entirely.

Capuchin Novice and Seminarist (1903-1910)

Francesco wished to become a Capuchin friar: his wish came true on 6 January 1903, when he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars Minor of the Religious Province of Sant’ Angelo-Foggia in Morcone (Benevento). On 22 January 1903, he received the novice’s habit and took the name Fra Pio (Brother Pius). On 22 January 1904, he made his profession of simple vows and was transferred to the Sant’ Elia a Pianisi ‘training centre’ (Campobasso) where, on 27 January 1907, he made his profession of solemn vows.

From 1904-1909, he was in various monasteries in the religious province, completing his junior, secondary and theological studies. Often, however, he was sent home for health reasons. On 18 July 1909, in the church of the Morcone monastery, he received the order of the diaconate.

His Time in Pietrelcina (1910 – 1916)

For health reasons again, Fra Pio remained in Pietrelcina, near his family, from January 1910 to 17 February 1916, when he was assigned to the monastery of Sant’ Anna in Foggia. On 10 August 1910 he was ordained as a priest in the Chapel of the Canons in Benevento Cathedral, in the presence of just his mother, because his father was in America.

His time in Pietrelcina was marked by cooperation with the local archpriest in the fulfillment of his priestly ministry, and by a life of intense prayer and detailed correspondence with his spiritual directors, published in the first volume of his letters. On 7 September 1911, the stigmata appeared on his hands – particularly his left – then disappeared after a few days. The phenomenon that began the previous year was repeated almost every week until 1918.

From the end of October until 7 December Padre Pio was in the Venafro monastery, in the province of Isernia. In this monastery he was almost always ill, subject to uncommon diabolical torments and visited by multiple ecstasies and heavenly visions. For 20 days the Eucharist was his only nourishment. On 6 November 1915, he was called up for military service in the Benevento district, then later transferred to Naples. His period of military service, interspersed by long periods of leave for health reasons, ended on 16 March 1918, when he was rejected after an examination revealed double bronchio-alveolitis; he was permanently discharged ‘with a declaration stating that he had conducted himself well and served with loyalty and honor’.

His Time in the Sant’ Anna Monastery in Foggia (15 February – 4 September 1916)

In this town Padre Pio helped the illustrious soul of a woman named Raffaelina Cerase, which was taken up to heaven on 25 March 1916. He suffered terrible torments from the devil. He began a far-reaching mission of mercy to help a ‘multitude of souls thirsty for Jesus, who fell on him, making him tear out his hair and not leaving him free for a moment’ (Letters I, 805). On 28 July 1916, accompanied by Father Paolino, he went to San Giovanni Rotondo for the first time, where he remained for eight days. On 4 September he came back ‘temporarily’; but his ‘temporary’ stay became permanent, lasting until his death (23 September 1968).

His Time In San Giovanni Rotondo (1916 – 1918)

During the first two years of his time in the small town, Padre Pio continued his correspondence with his spiritual directors, with his spiritual daughters and with all the many souls who flocked to him. By order of the provincial father, he held the post of director and teacher at the local seraphic seminary. There very quickly formed around him a small group of souls thirsty for perfection, which we can regard as the first ‘prayer group’. In his own way he dedicated himself to achieving perfection in his own soul, as his mystical journey evolved incessantly.

The second year (1918) was very rich in mystical phenomena and celestial gifts for him:

1.     2 July 1956: laying of the first stone for the new church.
   

2.   On 20 May he received the ‘substantial divine touch’ and a mysterious spiritual imprisonment (Letters 1050-1054);
   

3.   From 5 to 7 August he experienced the ‘transverberation of the heart’ (Letters I, 1051-1056);
   

4.    On 20 September he received the stigmata (Letters I, 1092-1095);
   

5.    On 20 December he revealed that for several days he had again been experiencing the ‘transverberation of the heart’ (Letters I, 1104-1106).
   

His Time In San Giovanni Rotondo (1919 – 1931)

This was a highly eventful and painful period in the life of Padre Pio. The key points are as follows: from May 1919 onward, following some articled in the press, crowds began to pour into the Capuchin monastery. These souls flocked here for two reasons above all: to hear Mass from the stigmatized priest and for him to hear their confession.

There now began the turmoil of slander and accusations to the Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office, who intervened repeatedly, imposing restrictions on Padre Pio and ordering his removal from the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo. This order provoked a great reaction among the citizens of the town, who rose up to prevent their ‘saint’ being snatched away from them. The order was suspended. Meanwhile, there were various apostolic visitations.

For his part, Padre Pio continued his life of prayer and intense fulfillment of his apostolic ministry, through confession and perfect obedience to his superiors and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. One social achievement worth noting was the foundation of a hospital – the Ospedale Civile San Francesco (St. Francis Civic Hospital), which was open for 13 years, from 25 January 1925 to 1938, when it was destroyed by an earthquake.

The Years of Segregation (1931 – 1933)

On the evening of 9 June 1931, Padre Pio received an order from the Holy Office to suspend exercising any part of his ministry, with the exception of Holy Mass – which, moreover, he had to celebrate in the monastery’s interior chapel, in the presence of the acolyte only. The father superior went to see the provincial father, who confirmed that the order had to be follower. On the 11th, aware of the injunction, Padre Pio said: ‘It is God’s will’, It was the feast of Corpus Christi.

Throughout the time he was segregated, which lasted until 15 July 1933, Padre Pio’s daily life consisted of: approximately two hours celebrating Hole Mass; prayer in chorus until noon, interspersed by an hour or so of study in the library; and in the afternoon more prayer, from evening until almost midnight.

The Years of Relative Calm (1933 – 1955)

On 16 July 1933, Padre Pio went back to celebrating Holy Mass in church; he was subsequently granted the power to hear the confessions of men again (15 March 1934), and then those of women (12 May 1934). Thus he resumed his ministry of apostle and martyr of the confessional, in a striking crescendo: on 7 January 1950, his superiors were forced to initiate a ‘booking’ system to control the huge crowd of souls flocking to him to receive sacramental absolution.

Large numbers of souls also flocked to the altar to hear him celebrate Mass with angelic fervor. By now the small Capuchin church could not contain the crowds. For this reason, on 5 June 1954, Padre Pio celebrated Holy Mass outdoors for the first time on the square in front of the church.

During this period (1933-1955) there were visitors from illustrious figures like Princess Marie Jose of Piedmont with the King of Belgium’s daughter and Duchess Pucci (12 April 1942).

Some good works began, which later developed in a wonderful way. On 7 October 1939, Msgr. Andrea Cesarano, Archbishop of Manfredonia, blessed the via crusis (Way of the Cross) built along the road leading to the monastery. Padre Pio was present. On 19 May 1947, clearing works began for the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Hospital, which the saint from Pietrelcina wanted to have built.

At the same time Padre Pio started the prayer groups, in response to the pained and urgent appeals from Pius XII, whom he invited to pray. ‘Let’s do it’, he said. ‘Let’s roll up our sleeves. To start with, let’s respond to the appeal from the Pontiff in Rome’. And so the prayer groups were born: today there are more than 2,000 of them all over the world. During the dark years of the Second World War, the Blessed Father was the angel of consolation for many wives and mothers who rushed to him asking for prayers for their loved ones at the front and for news of their fate.

Even in this period of relative calm, he was not without troubles, however: anonymous letters slandering his moral conduct; a canonical visitation by Abbott Caronti and Msgr. Pepe (31 December 1951); and the condemnation of some books about him by the Holy Office (3 August 1952).

The Golden Age of Good Works (1956 – 1959)

Here we will simply list them.

1.     5 May 1956: inauguration of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Hospital and blessing of the building by Cardinal G. Lercaro; Padre Pio celebrated Holy Mass outdoors, in front of the hospital, in the presence of 15,000 people. Some high-ranking political and religious figures were present at the ceremony, including padre Benigno from Sant’ Ilario Milanese, General Minister of the Capuchin Order.
   

2.     2 July 1956: laying of the first stone for the new church.
   

3.    17 December 1956: inauguration of two kindergartens – Santa Maria della Grazie (in the Santa Croce district) and San Francesco d’Assisi (in the parish of Sant’ Onofrio).
   

4.   26 January 1958: inauguration of the Pace e Bene kindergarten, entrusted to the Tertiaries of Our Lady of Sorrows.
   

5.     1 July 1959: consecration of the new church of Sana Maria della Grazie.
   

6.     2 July 1959: coronation of the painting of the Madonna by Cardinal F. Tedeschini.
   

The Final Station on the Way of the Cross (1959 – 1967)

The salient facts, which can be regarded as the final station on St. Pio’s own sorrowful ‘way of the cross’, are as follows. His long illness, which began on 25 April 1959, ended on 7 August of the same year, when the statue of the Madonna of Fatima left San Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio attributed his recovery to the intercession of the Virgin.

        The apostolic visitation from Msgr. Carlo Maccari (30 July – 17 September 1960), which made news journalists explode with bitterness, attacking the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the Capuchin Order and the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo.

        His health, which grew worse and worse.

Because of his poor eyesight, on 20 December 1962 he was granted the power to recite the full rosary instead of the Divine Office. On 17 February 1965 he obtained dispensation to continue using Latin when celebrating Holy Mass. Again, because of his precarious health, he often did not celebrate it. Doctors and the faithful devoted to him were worried. Padre Pio preferred to remain alone and pray.

On 24 November 1965 he was given permission by the Holy See to celebrate sitting down, turned towards the people.

Among so many sufferings and trials, a few consolations. There were some very moving demonstrations of affection on 10 August 1960, on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood. In 1962 and the years immediately following, there were visits from many bishops called to Rome by the Vatican Council II.

Conclusion to the Way of the Cross (1968)

In January 1968, every so often Padre Pio was forced to absent himself from celebrations.

On 29 March he began using a wheelchair to get around the monastery and the church.

On 7 July he collapsed. He often did not attend celebrations. He preferred to remain alone and pray a great deal.

On 22 September, at 5am, Padre Pio sang Holy Mass. When he finished, he collapsed heavily on the altar. He began confession, but had to stop. At 10:30am he blessed the crowd who were amassed in the square outside the church. At 6pm he gave his final blessing to the crowd in the church. After that he retired to his cell. That was the end.

In the middle of the night, at 2:30am on 23 September 1968, he died in holiness, after making the sacrament of confession, renewing his religious vows and receiving the sacrament of extreme unction. His body was laid out for four days so that the crowd could pay devout homage to him. At 3:30pm on 26 September his solemn funeral rites took place; around 100,000 faithful participated. At 10:30pm on the same day his body was buried in the crypt.

On 27 September 1969, at 4:30pm the crypt was opened to the public, where St. Pio lay at rest, awaiting resurrection.

The devout pilgrimage by thousands of souls began.