It seems like only the other day, but six years have already gone by since Padre Pio, the beloved Capuchin friar from Pietreclina was declared a saint. Padre Pio as he is known among the millions of pilgrims who have visited his burial site at San Giovani Rotondo (Italy), was baptised with the name Francesco Forgione.
Born in 1887, he joined the Capuhin Friary in his hometown of Pietroclina and became famous thoroughout Italy as a beloved confessor and preacher. For many years, he also bore stigmata, the wounds of Christ's crucifixion on his hands and feet.
He died September 23, 1968. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1999 and canonized him in 2002. According to a long-standing tradition in the Church, the bodies of saints can be exhumed and then prepared for public viewing. Work to exhume the saint's body began this past Sunday and has now been completed. In the coming weeks, it will be prepared for public viewing and then displayed in the church of San Giovani Rotondo where pilgrims will be able to pray in his presence.
Other saints whose bodies have been exhumed and are available for public viewing include Saint Theresa of Lisieux whose body is preserved in a glass coffin in the Carmel of Lisieux (France) and the bodies of several popes, including Saint Pius X and Blessed John XXIII whose bodies are found in the Vatican basilica.
No comments:
Post a Comment