Hundreds given hope after venerating Padre Pio relics at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Robert came because he had some legal problems weighing on him, Carol due to the recent loss of her son, and Sandra brought her daughter, who has autism.
“Pray. Hope. Don’t worry,” Saint Padre Pio would say to them.
Carol, Robert, and Sandra were among the hundreds who visited the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on Monday and Tuesday to venerate or bring respect to five relics of Padre Pio, who was proclaimed Saint Pio of Pietrelcina by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002. He was known for his charity, dedication to prayer for the sick and the hurting, and his gift of the stigmata. He is also said to have levitated when in prayer, emanated the smell of roses, and healed the sick.
Some who visited the Basilica on Sept. 12 and 13 said they came out of curiosity — they had never heard of Padre Pio or even seen a relic before. Most, however, said they are very familiar with his life and miracles. They were there to ask for Saint Pio’s intercession in prayer to alleviate their pain and suffering.
From a small town, but widely known
Padre Pio was born in 1887 in a small town in southern Italy, Pietrelcina. He was born into a poor but religious family, and they supported their son’s wish, announced at the age of five, to become a priest. He was sickly from a young age and required private tutoring, so his father moved to America to obtain employment to pay for the tutoring. At 15, he entered the Capuchin Friars and was ordained a priest in 1910.
In September 1918, a miraculous thing happened to Padre Pio — the five wounds of Christ appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Catholic Church. The wounds, which never went away, were examined but never explained. He wore gloves that he changed twice daily and would lose a half liter of blood a day, said Luciano Lamonarca, founder and CEO of Saint Pio Foundation of Tuckahoe, N.Y., which sponsored the relic tour.
Although Padre Pio lived and served in a small town in Italy, Maria, who came to the Basilica on Tuesday, said he was well known by Italian-Americans here even before his beatification. She recalled her grandmother making gloves in a sewing group with other neighborhood women and sending them to Padre Pio.
The relics, placed for two days in the front of the sanctuary and guarded by the Knights of Columbus, included the crusts of Saint Pio’s wounds, cotton gauze bearing his blood stains, a lock of his hair, his handkerchief soaked with his sweat only hours before he died, and a piece of his friar mantle.
The importance of relics to Catholics
In the Catholic Church, relics are physical objects associated with a saint or candidate for sainthood. They are not worshiped but treated with religious respect.
“Touching or praying in the presence of such an object helps a faithful individual focus on the saint’s life and virtues so that through the saint’s prayer or intercession before God, the individual will be drawn closer to God,” according to the Saint Pio Foundation website.
Many who came to venerate the relics at the Basilica brought objects from home, such as rosaries, Padre Pio photos and paintings, prayer cards, and pieces of material to press against the glass-enclosed relics. Some bought the $10 Padre Pio rosaries (that smell like roses) offered at a table in the marthex or entrance to the church. They waited in lines, at times 100 people deep, to get their objects close to the relics and to pray to Saint Pio.
Relics are separated into three classes. First-class relics consist of a body part of a saint, such as bone, blood, or flesh. Second-class relics contain a possession belonging to the saint. Third-class relics are objects that have been touched to a first- or second-class relic. Visitors created their own third-class relics by touching their things on the Saint Pio relics.
Carol waited patiently to bring a photo of her son, who died by suicide recently, up to the relics and to pray through Saint Pio for peace and God’s grace for him.
Robert, donning a “Pray. Hope. Don’t worry.” T-shirt was distraught over legal problems. He said Saint Pio intervened even before he got to the basilica. A lawyer called him in the car on his way to the basilica to tell him he had 30 more days to resolve his problem. He brought a piece of paper with a Padre Pio quote on praying the rosary: “Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.”
“I was granted some time to work things out. That’s more than I can ask for now,” he said.
Jean, a devout Presbyterian, said she wasn’t familiar with relics or the saint himself but walked away wanting to learn more about the man and the saint. She said she was happy to see so many people in the church.
Lamonarca said that’s exactly what the tour is about — to inspire Christians to learn more about this modern-day saint. He started the Saint Pio Foundation in 2014 after he and his wife experienced what they call a miracle of Saint Pio.
History of Saint Pio Foundation
Lamonarca said that most of those who attend the tours of the relics of Padre Pio would never be able to travel to San Giovanni Rotondo, where Pio’s monastery is, or Pietrelcina, his birthplace.
“It has, therefore, become a mission for us to bring these relics to archdioceses, dioceses, parishes to enable these faithful devotees to have a ‘spiritual encounter’ with Padre Pio,” Lamonarca said.
After giving birth to a stillborn baby girl in 2010, Lamonarca, who grew up in Italy visiting a shrine of Padre Pio, took his wife to San Giovanni Rotondo. While there, they visited the Padre Pio shrine, attended Mass, and passed by Padre Pio’s body to offer their intentions. They also met Msgr. Pierino Galeone, Padre Pio’s friend of 20 years and a witness of the Diocesan canonization process of Padre Pio. Msgr. Galeone revealed to them a relic — a handkerchief with blood stains of Padre Pio that gave off a strong fragrance of roses. Although doctors told Luciano and his wife that it was unlikely they would have another child, Msgr. Galeone advised them not to give up hope, he said.
The couple did experience multiple miscarriages, but in September 2015, their son, Sebastian, was born.
“Because they had received so much from God’s own hand, Luciano poured himself into the work of the foundation. The presence of Padre Pio in his life and Valentina’s has drawn them ever closer to God from whom all miracles come. They are certain that their faith, strength, and the miracle they have received and continue to receive are the gifts of having drawn closer to Padre Pio and unceasingly seeking his intercession,” according to the website.
The goal of the Saint Pio Foundation is to promote the awareness of Saint Pio and his charism nationally and internationally by working with institutions and individuals who share the same vision to serve “those in need of relief of suffering.”
In 1956, Padre Pio opened a home for the relief of suffering, the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza. Today, with over 1,000 beds, the Casa is thriving in “one of the most remote, desolate and poorest areas of Italy atop Mount Gargano, four hours from Rome,” according to the foundation’s website.
Padre Pio died on Sept. 23, 1968. His funeral had over 100,000 mourners in attendance, and he was entombed in the crypt of Our Lady of Grace Church.
Father Bismarck Chau, the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, said the basilica was excited to host this display.
“He helped so many people, and he was committed to prayer in a way that’s hard for even priests to manage. So, it’s amazing that people will get the chance to pray before his relics,” Father Chau said.
‘I Embrace You’ statue
The tour also included showing a replica of a life-size Padre Pio statue titled “I Embrace You.” It was displayed midway through the line to the relics, where people stopped to touch the statue’s hands, depicting Padre Pio’s blood pouring from the stigmata. People shared their stories in whispers about their relationship with the saint, almost like sharing stories of a dead loved one in a line of a wake before they kneel before the coffin.
The original statue by sculptor Timothy Schmalz was erected in Pietrelcina and dedicated to the people of the United States on Sept. 23, 2021, on the 53rd anniversary of the Saint’s passing. The Saint Pio Foundation wanted to give tribute to the support Pio’s father received when he sought work in the U.S. and to all who supported Padre Pio.
On Tuesday, Cardinal Joseph Tobin celebrated a mass for Saint Padre Pio in which about 250 attended. An air of reverence and wonder of relics was displayed during Mass, observed in a peaceful atmosphere filled with prayers.
During Cardinal Tobin’s sermon, he spoke of Padre Pio’s global impact and influence. The cardinal referenced several remarks Pope Francis said about the saint, including how Padre Pio was sought after as a confessor, which Pio sometimes practiced 17 hours daily.
“He wanted to touch the wounds of the people and help alleviate their suffering,” Cardinal Tobin said. “Padre Pio was convinced in his own words that prayer was the best weapon we have, a key that opens the heart of God.”
Michael, who attended the mass and is of Italian descent, said Padre Pio is one of his favorite saints.
“We look up to him as an important figure as Catholics. He’s important to the Catholic faith because he had a lot of fervor and was very committed to his faith and souls,” he said. “I guess it puts you in a state of peace being around the relics and also a feeling closer to God.”
Editor’s note: Alexandra Rojas contributed to this article.
