Cardinal Tobin reflects on the spiritual gifts of Padre Pio
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
During the two decades that I had a Roman address, I shared community life with missionaries who hailed from thirty or more different countries. This hodgepodge of priests and brothers were imbedded in the wonderful if, at times, bewildering culture of the Bel Paese, the beautiful country, Italy. I recall one evening in Roma listening to a German priest describe what he saw on his afternoon walk. A truck was patiently making its way through the crowded streets near Piazza Venezia, towing a trailer that bore a bronze image of a majestic figure mounted on a regal stallion. The image, which stands almost 15 feet high was the emperor Marcus Aurelius, which stands in a beautiful piazza designed by Michelangelo atop the Capitoline, one of the seven hills of Roma.
What impressed my German brother was seeing many of the people who had to give way to this statue, blessing themselves. He concluded that these folks mistook the Roman emperor for some unknown saint whom they did not want to offend. He pointed out the irony, since that Marcus Aurelius was an energetic persecutor of second-century Christians. During his reign and with his full sanction, Felicitas, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, and many thousands of less renowned Christians were cruelly tortured to death.
However, I jumped to the defense of those pious pedestrians. I have found the portion of the People of God who live in Italy have profound respect for the Saints as advocates and intercessors. Guess what? The Catechism backs them up for cultivating an intimate friendship with saints:
Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness…. They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus…. So, by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.
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