Saint Padre Pio: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis by Michael J. Ruszala & Wyatt North

Author:Michael J. Ruszala & Wyatt North [Ruszala, Michael J. & North, Wyatt]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Biographies & Memoirs, Leaders & Notable People, Religious, Christian Books & Bibles, Catholicism, Religion & Spirituality, Popes & the Vatican, General Fiction
Amazon: B00QZDOHKU
Published: 2014-12-12T07:00:00+00:00

Life with the Stigmata

A woman at Mass was the first to notice Padre Pio’s stigmata. Vittoria Ventrella recalls, “My sister Filomena went to the convent on September 20, 1918, and was the first to notice that the Padre had received the wounds, because she saw on his hands the red marks similar to the marks that we see on the statue of the Sacred Heart. She came home and told us” (My Life… ch. 5). The next day, another lady noticed the wounds and went to one of the friars, Padre Paolino da Casacalenda, and told him about it. Padre Paolino recalled, “I started thinking: ‘How can [it] be possible that Padre Pio has received the stigmata without me realizing it? I am always with him.’ I went in Padre Pio’s room without knocking at the door. He was writing at the desk. When he saw me he got up. I asked him to continue writing. I got closer, and first saw the wound on the back and on the palm of the right hand. Then I saw the one on the back of the left hand.” Padre Paolino then wrote to Padre Benedetto, the superior, about the matter; the superior simply commanded him to silence. Padre Benedetto did not even notify the head of the order for some time, hoping to prevent a stir. At first, he did not even want to go to see for himself.

Whatever the motives for silence, they were not unfounded since the supernatural wounds became a cause of trouble for both Padre Pio and the order. Silence from the order, however, did little to help the situation since all the people of San Giovanni Rotondo and the surrounding area came to know about the friar’s stigmata from the talk that went around. People from all over the region began flocking to the monastery to see the living saint. As a result, Padre Pio became subject to endless medical examinations to determine the origin of the wounds, the best care for them, and whether there was any danger to others. Since he had been previously diagnosed with tuberculosis, some other friars worried that they might contract the disease from contact with blood from his wounds. His superiors, meanwhile, wanted to know the exact origin of the wounds.

For us, the many medical examinations of the wounds by medical professionals, both believers and atheists, leave us with scientific documentation and observation of what took place in Padre Pio’s body. The reports tell us that the wounds were round, about the size of a penny. Some said light could be seen coming through the wounds, if there was a light source on the other side. Many doctors made attempts to stop the bleeding, but there was no use. They bled constantly though they would scab over to some extent. X-Rays showed that there was no damage to the bone or cartilage, and observations revealed that there was no damage to any of the surrounding tissue, as would happen from a puncture wound or from an acid burn.

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