The Padre Pio Encounter

Sharing some pictures taken from our May 2010 visit

A Testimonial

Just as the school year began, my husband and I went to Padre Pio’s center in Libis Quezon City. I remembered asking numerous things-some trivial others were note worthy. I remembered asking Padre Pio to bless the books that I am writing, to give me a fruitful school year, to bless our family and our loved ones with good health, I also remembered asking Padre Pio to bless us with a child and intercede for us to be able to work abroad. Among the many other things I asked, this was what I least expected to be answered, afterall, both my husband and I have stable jobs. After a few weeks after , one of my prayers was answered. An opportunity came for us to be able to work overseas and constantly after that, we can still feel Padre Pio’s intercession. Every step of the application process was easy for me and my husband. There was never a document that became impossible to process and all the people whom we worked with during the application were all accommodating and I know it’s because the Lord is working through Padre Pio.

I would like to share the blessing which the Lord through the intercession of Padre Pio gave to us. I first heard about Padre Pio in a documentary at National Geographic. I heard about his miraculous healings and intercessions. A week after that, I read about the trip of Tintin Bersola, Julius Babao and Ricky Lo to the Padre Pio shrine in Italy and the testimonials they gave. I searched the internet and came across so many blogs which published numerous testimonials about Padre Pio and realized that there was a Padre Pio center in the Philippines. From then on, I turn to Padre Pio’s intercession every time I need some guidance and divine intercession.

I brought my mother and my aunt to see Padre Pio and their encounter was the same us ours.. It was always a long drive but it was worth it. For some reasons, every time we are at the center, we felt the heaviness and worries of our hearts melt away and in my heart of hearts I know, that Padre Pio heard their heart’s desires.

I always look forward to visiting the center again. I know I had to come back to the place to say thank you and to ask for his intercession again. I said “Lord alam kong ikaw ang nagbigay ng opportunity na ito and kung para po to sa amin, salamat po at tuluyan mo po kaming i-bless para po mapangyari naming ang will ninyo”.

We left the Padre Pio center yesterday with a novena and a rosary at hand, which we will be bringing with us as we leave.I hope that those who will read this, will know more about Padre Pio and will get to experience his powerful intercession. I remembered one of the anecdotes of Padre Pio which read “How can I say no to a prayer when my Lord answers all prayers”.

For those who would want to visit Padre Pio Center, here's the complete address:

St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel

(of the Philippine Centre for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.)

RER Compound, 188 E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue (C-5), Bagumbayan,

Quezon City, Metro Manila 1110 Philippines

Who is St. Pio?

Francesco Forgione – or more widely known as St. to the world – was born on May 25, 1887 in the province of Benevento in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the Southern Italian region of Campania, as the fourth of seven children to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860-1946) and Maria Guiseppa De Nunzio (1859-1929). He was baptized the day after he was born in the Sant’ Anna Church in Pietrelcina by Father Nicolantonio Orlando, and was named Francesco because of his mother’s devotion to St. Francis of Assisi. He was privately tutored until his entry into the Capuchin Friars Minor at the age of 15. With feeble health but a strong will to serve God, he completed the required studies and was ordained a priest in 1910.

On September 20, 1918, the five wounds of our Lord’s Passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. Crowds began to pour into the Capuchin monastery to hear Mass from St. Pio and for him to hear their confession. The Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office imposed restrictions on St. Pio and ordered his removal from the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, the order was suspended when it provoked great reaction among the citizens of the town, who rose up to prevent St. Pio from being taken from them. St. Pio, on the other hand, continued his life of prayer and intense fulfillment of his apostolic ministry, through confession and perfect obedience to his superiors and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Worn out by over half a century of intense suffering and constant apostolic activity, his health grew worse.

On September 23, 1968 shortly after making the sacrament of confession, renewing of religious vows and receiving the sacrament of extreme unction to Padre Pellegrino, St. Pio died in holiness with the names of “Jesus, Mary” on his lips.

The Diocesan process for St. Pio’s canonization began on March 20, 1983 and was closed on January 21, 1990. Padre Pio was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 2, 1999, after the miraculous healing of Mrs. Consiglia De Martino of Salerno, Italy, the needed miracle for the beatification, was approved by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. On December 18, 2000, the miraculous healing of 7-year old Matteo Collela of San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, the needed miracle for canonization, was approved by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints.

Blessed Padre Pio was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002.

(Information obtained from: http://saintpiocenter.com/St._Pio_Centre/Who_is_St._Pio.html)