Flora Cantábrica

THE STIGMASPadre Pio!»

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THE STIGMAS

One day, on September 2, 1915, Dona Josefa called to her son: «Padre Pio! Padre Pio!» After a few moments, her son came out of the hut waving his hands, as if he had been burned.
His mother, always cheerful, smiled and said, «What’s the matter with you now, playing the guitar with both hands?»
«It’s nothing,» Padre Pio replied, «insignificant pains.»
In reality, Padre Pio had just received the invisible stigmata. He had previously felt pain in his feet and hands.
In 1912, the pain spread to his heart. In a letter from that time, he wrote: «My heart, hands, and feet seem to have been pierced by a sword.»
On October 10, 1915, he informed his spiritual director, Father Augustine, that he had received the invisible stigmata, feeling, especially on some days, «extremely acute pain.»
Praying One day, while he was in the choir with the other religious, after the Liturgy of the Hours had ended, everyone had left, leaving only Padre Pio, absorbed in his personal prayer with Father Arcángel. At the ringing of the bell for the community, the two stood up. Padre Pio’s hands were bleeding. Father Arcángel, concerned, asked him: «Have you hurt yourself?»
With an uncertain step and a pale face, he went to present himself to the Superior, who was petrified upon seeing him. In addition to his hands and feet, his side was also bleeding profusely. The strange thing was that the blood did not clot, and it also emanated a pleasant perfume.
The Superior immediately informed the Father Provincial. As you can imagine, the news did not remain hidden for long. Astonishment and joy filled the hearts of thousands of people who came to see the «saint.» Everyone wanted to confess with Padre Pio or participate in his Holy Mass. The case greatly concerned the Provincial Superior, who undertook a thorough study of his condition. He requested photographs and sent them, along with a comprehensive report, to the Holy See. In response, he received orders to intensify the medical examination and remove Padre Pio from public view. He was forbidden to celebrate Mass in public or hear confessions. Padre Pio’s Blessing
Padre Pio remained silent and obeyed. For two long years, he lived a perfect cloistered life, under the orders of doctors who could not find the natural causes of his injuries.
One day, a doctor asked him this question:
«Father, tell me, why do you have injuries exactly there and not somewhere else?»
«Rather, you should be the one to answer me, Doctor: why do I have them in other places and not there?»
Padre Pio was not lacking in both a sense of humor and astute answers.

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