The Sign of Padre Pio

Today is the Feast of Saint Padre Pio, or Saint Pius of Pietrelcina. Almost everyone is familiar with him. He died in 1968. Many people in our community have parents or grandparents who recall encounters with the Saint. Some have met him themselves. Some still claim to see him from time to time (though he only appears to Italians!). We just put a picture of him in our new chapel.

But I wonder how you think of Padre Pio. Do you think immediately of the many miracles attributed to him - the healings? Do you think of the stigmata he received? Maybe you think, right away, about his being able to read souls in the confessional, or about his ability to be in more than one place at a time.

Then there was his relationship with the ecclesiastical authorities. He was forbidden, for a time, to say Mass publicly or hear Confessions while the Church investigated the authenticity of his life. Do you think about that? He was even accused of dishonesty by his own brother priests, especially those who were suspicious of his claims to have been suffering attacks from the devil himself.

Pope John Paul II took an interest in the holy Franciscan Friar when both were still young priests. He even visited with him in San Giovanni Rotondo, in 1947, during his studies in Rome. History will likely look back on their meeting as being very much like the meeting between Saint Dominic and Saint Francis, which took place in Rome in 1216.

But this is what interests me - that saints are attracted to other saints - that, as Jesus said in the Gospel today, the lamp gives light to those who “enter in.” That is, the light of personal holiness gives light to those who are in the house. So, it seems to me that if we are indeed able to recognize the holiness of Saints (remembering that many people do not) then perhaps something of God’s own Spirit is at work in us as well, drawing us, and inviting us, to “enter in” more deeply to the heart of God - to become saints ourselves.

This is why I ask you to consider what attracts you to Padre Pio. Because if you can see his holiness, and interpret that holiness as a sign of God’s own life breaking into this world, then something must be happening in you too - something that, if you were to allow God permission to purify and embolden through suffering, might also become light for those around you.

I would imagine, that, like all the Saints, Padre Pio would have preferred to have remained hidden away in God’s love. But the Lord set him on a lampstand to give light to all in the household of the Church. God has made him a lasting sign of His own love for all of us. +