Biography
Italian healer, a Capuchin monk and stigmatic. He was a special, unique
case as he was the first priest "marked by God" in two thousand
years. Nuns, monks and even laypersons have experienced the stigmata but
never a consecrated priest. His phenomena was witnessed and reported by
tens of thousands of people.
Francesco Forgione was the eighth child in a poor family. He followed
his vocation at 16 by joining the Capuchins, the most austere order of
Franciscans, and he studied with them for eight years before being
ordained in 1910. Conscripted in 1916, he attracted the attention of
military doctors when he went on "sick call." He fell gravely
ill with a temperature that climbed to 118 degrees, leaving the doctors
gasping. He was given leave, sent home to die. His Father Superior sent
him to the monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo. Once there, he recovered
suddenly.
His stigmata first appeared 9/20/1918 when one of the brothers found
him with his hands bleeding copiously. He was taken immediately to his
cell. When the doctor arrived, he insisted that photographs be taken.
There was no reason for the wounds and the blood did not coagulate, but
left a pleasant odor. These stigmata remaining visible for his lifetime.
The church did not welcome the phenomena and they restricted Pio to his
quarters, not allowing him to give the Mass or sacraments, while
conducting examinations and inquiries, both by medical specialists and
church dignitaries. He was kept under tight watch to see that he was not
physically mutilating himself, with his hands in tight dressings and
sealed with wax. No fraud could be found; indeed, the bloody bandages
remained sweet smelling. With a dilemma on their hands, the Vatican
forbade him to show his hands to anyone other than his inquisitors. From
1931 to 1933, he was literally sentenced to remain incognito.
On 6/05/1923, the Vatican had published an apostolic act officially
informing the public that the phenomena associated with the Capuchin
brother Padre Pio had not been authenticated by Rome as supernatural. In
1933, to silence the Padre, his superiors ordered him to another
monastery. When word got out, the people revolted. Peasants, businessmen,
hotelkeepers and even the mayor blocked all the exits from the monastery,
armed with hatchets, scythes and rifles, ready to stop any attempt to take
their priest away. Business was booming in the town due to the rumors and
declarations of evidence, and the good Italians wed their sense of
devotion with their sense of commerce. Never again did Padre Pio receive
orders of transfer.
While the priest was in solitary confinement, people reported that he
was seen at different bedsides of the ill and stricken. At times he was
seen hundreds of miles away, comforting and healing, at the same time that
he was known to be at prayers in the chapel. Pio was allowed once more to
celebrate the Mass - at 5:00 AM. The people were not deterred by the
hour but flocked to the church to see the man whose hands bled when he
lifted them in blessing, as had those of Christ.
No mystic was ever victim of so many attacks by his peers or faced such
hostility in the bosom of the church. It was the sheer weight of the mass
of people who sustained him. During WWII, soldiers from Europe and as far
away as American made the rugged trek up to the mountainous village, and
carried the awesome story home with them of the priest who bore the wounds
of Christ. One day in 1947, a Polish priest, just ordained, came to the
monastery to make his confession and heard Pio say, "One day you will
be Pope." Later, John Paul II prayed before the tomb of Padre Pio.
His miracles numbered in the thousands. In the tradition of stigmatics,
he had the graces of bi-location (being seen in more than one place
simultaneously); distant vision; knowledge of the past, present and future
life of the faithful; reading of souls; and healing. He suffered
continually, with the wounds also on his feet, and it was witnessed that
on occasion, while saying the Mass, he levitated. While in the state of
mystical ecstasy, he appeared to be catatonic, though at times he was
heard conversing with unseen angels. Known as a great healer, he was
visited by multitudes, whose donations helped build and support a
hospital.
Padre Pio died on 9/23/1968. On the day of his death, the stigmata
disappeared, leaving a clear and immaculate skin. He was beatified by the
Roman Catholic church on 5/02/1999 and canonized on 06/16/2002, Rome at
10.21 AM (time from Italian TV reported by Grazia Bordoni.)
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What Do You Think?
Padre Pio was canonized as a saint by the Pope on June 16, 2002. He is the only
priest in history to have received the wounds of Christ, known as stigmata.
He bled from hands and feet but the wounds always smelled sweet.
Historically, nuns, monks and even lay people have experienced the
stigmata but never a consecrated priest.
Pio's phenomena were witnessed and reported by tens of
thousands of people. Strangely, though, the church was very uncomfortable about
this miracle even after putting him under constant supervision to
check for self-mutilation. The church had him removed from public contact
and confined to a monastery. Though confined to the monastery he had the
power of bilocation and was seen in many places tending to the sick.
- What makes the chart the chart of a first-rate healer and mystic?
- Padre Pio received the stigmata twice. The first time was September
1910. He prayed that they would be removed. They went away but
reappeared on 9/20/1918. After that his hands bled every week when he
performed the Mass. What is special about these two times in relationship
to his natal chart?
- From June 8, 1931 until early 1933 the Pope ordered Padre Pio to desist from all activities except the celebration of the Mass,
which was to be in private. He was, in effect, put in solitary
confinement. I do not see any activity in the 12th house or aspects to
the ruler of the 12th. What suggests his forced retreat from the
world?
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