Padre Pio

He started his work long before dawn, dedicating himself to prayer with great fervor, taking advantage of the solitude and silence of the night. He visited Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament daily and for long hours, preparing himself for the Holy Mass, from which he obtained the necessary strength for his great work with souls, bringing them closer to God in the Holy Sacrament of Confession; Padre Pio heard confessions for up to 14 hours a day.

He carried out initiatives in two directions: one vertical towards God, through the foundation of the “Prayer Groups”, now called “Prayer Groups”, and the other horizontal, with the construction of a modern hospital called “Casa Alivio del Sufrimiento”, which has the philosophy of supporting the poorest people throughout Europe.

In September 1968, thousands of devotees and spiritual children of Padre Pio gathered at a congress in San Giovanni Rotondo to commemorate together the 50th anniversary of the stigmata appearing on Padre Pio and to celebrate the fourth international congress of the Prayer Groups. No one would have imagined that at 2:30 in the morning on September 23, 1968, it would be the end of his earthly life. He was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II with the name of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.