The Stigmata of Saint Padre Pio

Padre Pio was canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II on June 16, 2002. The latter also opened a procedure for the recognition of the stigmata of the Capuchin monk. Only those of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine of Siena have been officially recognized by the Catholic Church after a rigorous investigation.

Indeed, the Church recognizes stigmata as a miracle but remains very cautious and surrounds itself with qualified doctors.

Short Biography of Padre Pio

The future great Saint Padre Pio was born, under the name Francesco Forgione, on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy. He grew up in a very pious family and saw Christ for the first time when he was only five years old. Francesco received special graces from the Lord from a very young age, as even as a small boy he explained that he preferred to spend time with his guardian angel rather than with children his own age. The attacks of the devil also began at this time. But the little boy was protected by the Blessed Virgin Mary. He entered the Capuchin monastery in Morcone in 1903 and officially became Pio, in honor of Pope Pius V. Ordained a priest in 1910, he was quickly sent back to his family for health reasons. He received the invisible stigmata around 1916 and at the same time entered the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, where he would remain until his death. He received the stigmata, visible this time, in 1918, after he experienced transverberation.

Saint Padre Pio received the gift of healing the sick, clairvoyance, and bilocation. He could read souls, and people from all over the world flocked to confess to him. The holy Capuchin rendered his soul to the Lord, after many years of suffering and persecution, on September 23, 1968. His body remains incorrupt and rests in San Giovanni Rotondo. Since then, testimonies of miraculous healings through his intercession continue to be reported.

The Stigmata of Padre Pio

Before the Transverberation of Padre Pio

On September 7, 1910, Padre Pio received the first stigmata. He wrote to his spiritual director: "A red mark the size of a coin appeared on my hands, accompanied by intense pain under my feet".

In 1916, Padre Pio received the other invisible stigmata. This means he felt burns of very high intensity in his hands, feet, and on his right side. Yet he was not particularly burned. There were only slight red marks in the designated places. He lived with this for two years, until his transverberation.

After the Transverberation of Padre Pio

On September 20, 1918, he experienced the mystical phenomenon of transverberation. This means that his heart was pierced by a spear or a sword, spiritually, but that his body actually bled, without his life being endangered.

In addition to this, he began to live the Passion of Christ and received, visibly this time, the stigmata of the Son of God. He had wounds on his hands, feet, and in the place where Christ was pierced by a lance. Everyone saw them but were very skeptical.

He recounted his experience of transverberation to his spiritual father: "I was praying before the crucifix, and I felt that little by little I was being led into an ever greater serenity, similar to a sweet sleep that made me rejoice while I prayed. A great peace came over me. At a certain moment, a mysterious figure appeared to me, similar to the one I had seen on the evening of August 5. The only difference was that this one had feet, hands, and a side from which blood flowed. It said nothing to me and disappeared. When I realized it, I was on the ground, wounded".

However, what is astonishing and remains perfectly inexplicable is the fact that his wounds bled abundantly and continuously, without him becoming exsanguinated. His wounds did not heal but did not become infected either. Moreover, a scent of violet and rose emanated from them, not of putrefaction. He is the first priest in the History of the Church to receive the stigmata of Christ.

In addition to this, he was one day marked with a cross, near the wound on his side that he already had.

Finally, the stigma he received but which no one ever knew about is the wound that Christ had on his shoulder from carrying the Cross. Padre Pio had only spoken of this wound to one person, to Father Wojtyla, the future Pope Saint John Paul II, during their meeting in San Giovanni Rotondo in April 1948. The holy Capuchin suffered terribly but never complained. Furthermore, he did not want to show his stigmata and therefore constantly wore gloves and closed shoes. His suffering lasted 50 years, from 1918 to 1968.

The stigmata of Padre Pio therefore never disappeared during his lifetime. But, one month after his death (some sources say one month before, during the very last Mass he celebrated) all the wounds healed perfectly, without anyone intervening.

The Church's View

Unfortunately, Saint Padre Pio was heavily criticized and called a liar by the Church and public opinion. For five years he dutifully submitted to all the medical examinations and analyses imposed on him. All conclusions agreed that it could not be a hoax or self-mutilation. However, the Vatican declared "finding nothing supernatural in the facts attributed to him" and condemned Padre Pio to not be able to approach the faithful. He was forbidden from administering the sacraments for ten years. He could only celebrate Mass in private. Despite this, the faithful flocked near the monastery, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. On July 14, 1993, the ban was lifted. Thousands of faithful then gathered at the church door to be able to attend the padre's Mass. Unfortunately, he was again forbidden from administering the sacraments until 1964 when Pope Paul VI restored all his functions to him. The investigation for the official recognition of the stigmata of Saint Padre Pio is still ongoing. The procedure is conducted using scabs detached from his stigmata, taken while he was still alive, and since used as relics. The recognition procedure is long because every aspect of the saint's life is meticulously analyzed, beyond even the stigmata themselves. Doctors had helped the Vatican discern whether the stigmata were truly mystical or the work of human hands, in order to build the case for canonization. The goal of this procedure is therefore to establish if the saint is "a living icon of Christ". Pope Benedict XVI, during a general audience focused on Saint Francis of Assisi and his stigmata, had described the wounds received from Christ as a "gift" that expresses "his intimate identification with the Lord".

The Medical View

The stigmata of the holy Capuchin were examined many times, at the official request of the Vatican. Dr. Romanelli, from the hospital in Barletta, examined him five times between 1919 and 1920. Here is what he transcribed from these examinations:

"The wound on the thorax clearly shows that it is not superficial. The hands and feet are pierced through and through."
"I cannot find a clinical formulation that allows me to classify these wounds."

In 1919, Professor Bignami, an atheist doctor, had seals placed on the padre's bandages to rule out the thesis of self-mutilation. The thesis was obviously dismissed.

In 1920 and 1925, Dr. Festa examined the Capuchin monk and concluded "... phenomena, harmoniously connected to each other, which elude the control of objective research and science."

In 1921, the Bishop of Volterra conducted an investigation among Padre Pio's entourage and also examined the saint's stigmata. His conclusions were favorable: he is a good religious living in a good community. The monk's stigmata cannot be explained and are neither the work of the devil nor that of a man.

Unfortunately, in 1925, Father and Doctor Agostino Gemelli declared, after examination, that they were erosion wounds, similar to war injuries, and that Padre Pio's mental capacities were limited.

Again, in 1960, a priest, Carlo Maccari, on the orders of Pope John XXIII, met the holy Capuchin nine times and examined him. His report was disastrous. He accused the father of trickery and declared that his religious education, and more broadly, his behavior as a monk, were inadequate.

Opinions still diverge greatly today.

Pray with Saint Padre Pio

Here are some prayers that the holy Capuchin monk prayed regularly:

Continue Your Prayer with Saint Padre Pio!

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Here is a beautiful novena to , to deepen your life as a baptized person!

, which Saint Padre Pio prayed every day. Let's ask the Lord for His graces through the intercession of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.