Originally born Francesco Forgione in the southern Italian town of Pietrelcina (which is why he is also known as St. Pio or Pius of Pietrelcina), St. Padre Pio is one of the most modern saints. He was born in 1887 and passed away in 1968. As I mentioned in a previous post, I learned of this holy man after a group of friends in college named their house after him. Below, I have written various facts of his life and explain why St. Padre Pio is a great saint for men to look up to.
Young Model of Faith
At a young age, he began making devotions to God and start the path to priesthood. Part of his devotion was doing intense penances, such as sleeping on the stone floor and using a rock as a pillow. St. Padre Pio became a novice of the Capuchin Order at the age of fifteen and became a priest by 1910. It was after becoming a priest that he became known as Padre Pio rather than Francesco. It seems that he knew what his vocation in life was meant to be early on and began to develop habits and his faith life to help him after he became a priest.
Stigmata
This is one of the aspects of his life that he is most famous for. It was in 1918 that he received the stigmata, and was the first priest in the history of the Catholic Church to receive it. The stigmata is, in essence, the visible signs of the crucifixion on the body of someone who is not Jesus Christ. Although he considered it an annoyance at first, St. Padre Pio carried the marks of the crucifixion on his hands, feet, and his side for the rest of his life. When he died, 50 years later, the marks of the stigmata disappeared from his body.
Supernatural Abilities
St. Padre Pio had many other gifts which were spiritual in nature. He was known to have the gift of bilocation, meaning that he was in two different places at the same time. He was also known to be able to read and understand the hearts of the people who came to him in the confessional for Reconciliation. Majority of these people he had never met before, and yet he knew private, personal moments of their life. I think this shows St. Padre Pio's devotion to aiding those in need of God. He wanted to be in many places in order to help many people and he helped by absolving them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, even if it was tough and painful for them to confession these sins.
Spiritual Advisor
In one of my previous posts, I presented one of St. Padre Pio's most famous quotes: "Pray, hope, and don't worry". I think this shows his philosophy towards faith and is a great bit of advice for those of us who worry a lot but need to pray more often (including myself).
Many pilgrims came to see him at the friary in order to have him hear their confessions. It is said that often St. Padre Pio would spend his whole day in the confessional, with only small breaks for times like Mass and sleep.
It is said that as a spiritual director, he had five key points of spiritual growth: weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience. These are definitely parts of faith that I need to implement in my own life. Each of these points are different ways of being with God, listening to Him, growing closer to Him in order to be spiritually strong enough to take on the tasks that we need to complete, just like St. Padre Pio.
The Sick
One of the stories of St. Padre Pio is that Pope St. John Paul II once wrote to him in the 60s when the future pope and saint was just Archbishop Karol Wojtyla. The archbishop wrote on behalf of a woman who was dealing with throat cancer, asking St. Padre Pio to pray for her. The story is that, two weeks later, the woman was completely healed. St. Padre Pio was known for helping those who were sick and in need of his healing
He was known for overcoming illnesses as a child as well. Also, when he was drafted into the army during World War I, it was discovered that he had tuberculosis so that he was discharged, though he quickly healed and went back to life as a priest at a friary. Because of his desire to help the sick around him, St. Padre Pio inspired the construction of a hospital close to the friary.
St. Padre Pio truly modeled for all of us men how to care for the sick and needy. He showed us how to devote our lives to God and discern His will for our lives. St. Padre Pio endured his sufferings with faith and love, which is why so many people came to him for guidance. I would like to be the kind of man that people come to for aid and guidance. I would like to be the kind of man that helps people heal. Not to mention, St. Padre Pio also had a pretty sweet beard, which does not necessarily correlate with him being a spiritual role model, but definitely as a manly role model. I want to pray, hope, and not worry and devote myself to God similar to how St. Padre Pio did.
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