O Did the World War II American flyer really see Padre Pio in midair, preventing the bombing of his village below? Did Pio actually “bilocate” in Italy, the Holy Land, even America, as countless witnesses testified? Or “read hearts” before penitents spoke? What of the stigmata, Christ’s wounds imprinted on Padre Pio’s hands, feet, and side? John Paul II, who as a young man visited Pio, never mentioned these extraordinary elements at the canonization. Instead, the pope spoke of “trials accepted with love,” referring perhaps to sanctions restricting Pio’s faculties for hearing confessions and celebrating public Mass, imposed because of criticism, later discredited, sent to the Vatican; of Pio’s offering his sufferings in union with Jesus’ passion for a suffering world; of his continual availability to sinners seeking direction and absolution; of Padre Pio’s prayer that blossomed in charity, especially through his “House for the Relief of Suffering,” a healthcare facility that anticipated by decades today’s holistic partnering of medical science and spirituality. Finally, how comforting for us “ordinary” Christians, this extraordinary saint’s most frequent advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!”
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