St. Pio of Pietrelcina, O.F.M.Cap. (1887-1968)
Feast Day - September 23rd
Francesco Forgione was born into a peasant family in southern Italy and worked the family farm from a young age. He was accepted as a Capuchin novice at age 15 and took the name Pio in honor of St. Pius I. Ill health plagued him during the years of religious and priestly formation, and even gained him dispensation to live with family for the first six years of his priesthood. In 1916 he was recalled to community life and ministry, devoting himself to spiritual direction, sacramental reconciliation, and celebration of the Eucharist. Constantly immersed in prayer and supernatural realities, Pio was widely known for his stigmata and the spiritual counsel he provided through his gift of reading souls. Fame brought many detractors, and he suffered accusations and punishments with silent resignation, trusting in the judgment of God, his immediate superiors, and his conscience. Amid the contrasting admiration for his divine favors, Pio would humbly say, "I only want to be a poor friar who prays." Patron of Civil defense volunteers
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