23/09/2026
โจWednesday Trivia
Did you know?
Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione, 1887โ1968) received the visible stigmata on September โ20, โ1918, while praying after Mass in the chapel of the Capuchin friars at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy โ he was 31 years old.โ
The wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and left side of the chest, matching Christ's crucifixion wounds, and remained on his body before his death in September 1968.โ
He also bore an invisible wound on his right shoulder, where Christ carried the Cross โ so painful he reportedly called it his "most painful wound," and he revealed it to only one person, Karol Wojtyลa (the future Pope John Paul II), during a 1948 encounter at San Giovanni Rotondo.โ
Some accounts also mention transverberation of the heart, wounds from scourging, and an invisible crown of thorns.
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Padre Pio's physical pain was his act of redemptive suffering. He offered his bleeding wounds for the conversion of souls in purgatory, reflecting on what also Christ did on the cross.
Just like Padre Pio, may we to learn to accept our own crosses in life. As well as being contented and grateful of all the gifts and grace God showered unto us, and despite our sufferings, may we hold on to our faith, make use of it to Glorify our Lord God and never let go of it throughout our lives.
Saint Padre Pio, Pray for us!
References:
Aleteia. (2017, January 31). St. Padre Pio bore the stigmata, but one secret wound was more painful than the others.
Caccioppoli, A. (n.d.). Close encounters of the special kind of Padre Pio with Jesus' Passion, receiving wounds on the hands, feet, side, shoulder, and an invisible crown of thorns. Examinations.
Catholic Answers. (n.d.). Padre Pio, stigmatist and mystic. https://www.catholic.com/tract/padre-pio-stigmatist-and-mystic
Aleteia. (2017, January 31). St. Padre Pio bore the stigmata, but one secret wound was more painful than the others.
EWTN Vatican. (n.d.). Padre Pio and the spiritual legacy of San Giovanni Rotondo.