Padre Pio - Great Saint of the Eucharist

By TOM DENNEHY

One of the greatest saints of the twentieth century was Padre Pio whose feast day we celebrate on September 23rd. His devotion to the Eucharist and the Mass gives us a greater insight into this great sacrifice. Padre Pio has taught us that when we attend Holy Mass, it is not alone a memorial of The Last Supper but also a partaking in the eternal sacrifice made by Jesus for us at Calvary.

Padre Pio suffered the wounds of Christ during the fifty years of his priestly life and experienced a sharing in the pain suffered by Jesus during His passion. This was especially visible to all present during his celebration of Holy Mass.

Padre Pio had an amazing devotion to the Holy Eucharist –during the holy Mass he would be completely united to Jesus in His Passion and Death. He clearly saw Jesus there with him, dying crucified on the cross, and truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament. He would frequently remain in contemplation while holding Jesus in the Eucharist in his hands.

Padre Pio was born in Pietrelcina, Italy, on May 25th 1887, and died in San Giovanni, Rotunda, Italy on September 23, 1968. While the lives of every saint contain many out of the ordinary events, the life of Padre Pio is especially marked by the presence of the supernatural.

Right from his childhood, the young Pio used to see and speak regularly with his guardian angel and this was so natural to him, that he thought everybody else had this same experience.

God gave many amazing gifts to this saint. He had the capacity to “read souls”- that is, to know ahead of time the sins of those who came to him for confession. He was able to “bi-locate”- be in two places at the same time, knowing what was going on in faraway places, and doing things in more than one place at the same time. One of the most incredible things that Padre Pio did was during the Second World War. An air raid was planned to bomb the town of San Giovanni Rotunda where Padre Pio was located. Some of the pilots testified they had seen a Franciscan friar in mid air, right in front of them, signalling to them not to drop any bombs.

Devotion to the Holy Rosary

Padre Pio had a great devotion to the rosary, praying as many as twenty rosaries a day. He never left the rosary beads out of his hands. He called the rosary his weapon against all evil and temptations against The Devil who was constantly attacking him. He loved Our Lady and remained constantly attached to her through the rosary. This invisible thread connects our hearts to that of Mary. The prayer of the rosary was at the heart of his relationship with Heaven. During one of her mystical experiences, the Blessed Mother revealed to Padre Pio, “With this weapon, you will win.”In fact, he constantly recited the rosary and encouraged all to do the same.

His Devotion to Eucharistic Adoration

Padre Pio is the patron saint of Eucharistic Adorers because of the many hours he spent in Adoration and was the place he was to be found when his fellow friars were looking for him. He was so happy during his many hours of Adoration that he wrote, “When I am close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, I feel as if my heart is bursting out of my chest.” He also tells us to kneel down in humble devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Confide all your needs to Him, along with those of others. Speak to Him with total abandonment, give free rein to your heart and give Him free rein to work in you as He thinks best.

His Priestly life

Padre Pio suffered poor health his entire life, offering all his sufferings for the conversion of souls. He survived on a few hours sleep and very little food. His working day lasted 19 hours. During his lifetime he brought thousands back to the faith and was known as the Saint of the Confessional, hearing confessions twelve to fifteen hours per day. He encouraged everyone to pray for the Holy Souls. He was canonized by Saint John Paul on June 16, 2002. His body, which is in-corrupt, is buried in San Giovanni and is visited by eight million pilgrims each year. Padre often declared, “After my death, I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death.” The many miracles and books written of his intercession testify to this.

The devotion to Padre Pio is greater now than ever.