This Thursday (10/1) our parish will host the relics of St. Padre Pio at St. Cecilia Church. One of the great saints of the 20th century, Padre Pio is loved by countless people all over the world. In a way, he is reminiscent of medieval saints whose hagiography modern audiences treat with skepticism because it portrays them doing things that seem impossible to us. But Padre Pio, who died in 1968, did many such things. He was known for having the gifts of healing, prophecy, levitation, and bilocation. He had the gift of tongues which allowed people who did not speak Italian to mysteriously hear him in their own languages. He could spend long hours hearing confessions, where it was revealed that he could read hearts, knowing what sins his penitents needed to confess and were perhaps failing to confess. He slept very little, spending many nights in combat with demons, and would go weeks without eating anything besides the Eucharist. He is probably most famous for bearing the stigmata – the wounds of Christ – on his hands, feet, and side. These bleeding wounds were a source of suffering for Padre Pio, not only because they were physically painful but also because they were objects of fascination for people, which he found humiliating. To the dismay of the saint, people often tried to touch the wounds on his hands, which are said to have given off the fragrance of roses.
Five relics of Padre Pio will be with us for the day: 1) crust from his stigmata wounds, 2) a piece of the Franciscan habit he wore, 3) a glove he wore to cover his stigmata, 4) the handkerchief he used to wipe tears from his face during Mass, and 5) a lock of his hair. People may visit the relics and pray in their presence beginning at 9:30am until a special Mass at 7pm, after which people will have the opportunity to venerate them. Traditionally, one venerates a relic by kissing it. If you prefer, you can also kiss your hand and place it on the relic as an act of devotion to the saint. If you haven’t been praying the novena prayers, which are available on our parish website, please consider “catching up,” so we can all finish it together on Thursday.
Padre Pio is a very special saint for our times. His many special gifts were given to him to remind us that our Catholic faith is real and that God is present in the world now no less than He was in past ages. Padre Pio called people to live holy lives that reveal the love of Christ Jesus. Fidelity to the truth of Christ will always bring with it some degree of hardship in the world and many opportunities to participate in the sufferings of Our Lord in ways big and small. This should not fill us with fear or anxiety, but hope. As Padre Pio once said: “Let us always keep before our eyes the fact that here on earth we are on a battlefield and that in paradise we shall receive the crown of victory; that this is a testing-ground and the prize will be awarded up above; that we are now in a land of exile while our true homeland is Heaven to which we must continually aspire.”
posted 9/26/26
