"I have observed that there are many people in the Philippines who are devotees of Padre Pio Pietrecilna, the patron saint. This made me curious, and I looked into his life story and how he became a saint.
Padre Pio was a Catholic priest and mystic who first felt called by God at the age of 5. Although his parents couldn't read, they still found ways to tell bible stories to their children. When he was young, Padre Pio experienced many illnesses like gastroenteritis, and he had heavenly visions at a young age. Because of his desire to become a priest, his father got a job in the United States to get a private tutor for him, so he could enter the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of 15.
It is said that Padre Pio had many miracles, and many people who attended his Masses claimed to have seen him levitate or fly. He suffered from many ailments and had difficulty eating, but he never stopped praying and serving God. He often told people who attended Mass to "Pray, Hope, and Don't worry." He always said that God is in everything, and we need to see and understand that God is present in everything.
As time went on, Padre Pio's spiritual gifts grew, and he had the gift of healing and the ability to communicate with angels. He had the ability to levitate, prophesy, and perform many miracles because of his belief in God. Many people saw him as a source of hope because of his closeness to Jesus Christ.
However, there were also many people who wanted to destroy Padre Pio. He was often prevented from serving the Church, and many false accusations were made against him, but nothing was proven, and he was able to return to the Church. He was one of the priests who established a medical clinic for the poor in 1947.
One of the things that surprised the Vatican about Padre Pio was that he had stigmata, bodily marks of pain, and bleeding in locations similar to the wounds of Christ. It is said that he had holes in his hands as if he was nailed to the cross. He was initially frightened by these apparitions, but God refused to take the stigmata away, and he had wounds on his hands and feet for 50 years until his death. Witnesses claimed that the blood that flowed from his wounds smelled like flowers and was very fragrant. He did not want to reveal that he had stigmata, but many people knew about it, and his devotees increased. The Vatican was suspicious about the stigmata and investigated him. They observed and monitored how his wounds healed and reappeared even though Padre Pio did not do anything. They took many X-rays but couldn't prove that it was fake.
It is also said that he had the ability to bilocate, to be in two places at the same time, and many people testified to this. He was also often attacked by demons who tried to destroy him, and he even laughed at them. It is said that he had the ability to see what was in a person's heart before they even confessed,
And because of this, the place became very wide and thousands of people flocked to see Padre Pio even until today when he has already passed away. Padre Pio also believed that the trials in life are signs of God's love for us and that we should never lose hope and always believe in Jesus Christ. He also did not approve of immodest clothing for women, saying that it is difficult to have a relationship with God for a woman who does not value her physical body. It is better to dress modestly.
Many investigations were carried out on the life of Padre Pio to see if he should be declared a saint, and in 2008, it was finally accepted that he was indeed a servant of God. His body was exhumed 40 years after his death and displayed in the hopes of producing miracles. The Shrine of San Giovanni Rotondo was built and it was a wonder that Padre Pio's body had hardly decayed. Thousands of devotees visit Padre Pio not because he has power, but because of the God he believes in: the God of Israel, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, and our Lord Jesus Christ.