Padre Pio of Pietrelcina: On a day like today he received the stigmata

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina received the stigmata of Christ on a day like today, September 20, 1918.

In 1921, three years later, Padre Pio himself told the story of how the stigmata appeared on his body.

The story was written by the Italian Francesco Castelli in a book titled Padre Pio under interrogation: The secret autobiography.

“He September 20, 1918 After the celebration of the Mass while I was in due gratitude in the Choir I was suddenly seized by a tremor, then calm came to me and I saw Our Lord in the attitude of one who is on the cross, but I did not see if he had the cross , lamenting the bad correspondence of men, especially those consecrated to Him who are His favorites,” said the saint according to Castelli.

In this, Padre Pio continued, “it was manifested that He suffered and desired to associate souls with His Passion. He invited me to penetrate his pains and meditate on them: and at the same time take care of the health of the brothers. I immediately felt fulfilled. of compassion for the pains of the Lord and I asked him what I could do. I heard this voice: ‘I associate you with my Passion’ And immediately, with the vision gone, I came to my senses, and I saw these signs from which blood came out. He didn’t have them before“.

Padre Pio’s story was given in response to some of the 142 questions that Monsignor Carlo Raffaelle Rossi asked him in 1921 at the request of the Holy Office, a Vatican dicastery that years later would become the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Bishop Rossi, Castelli explains, also examined each of Padre Pio’s wounds and asked him some details.

The Bishop, who years later would become a cardinal, was able to appreciate how the sore on his side, for example, “frequently changed its appearance and at that moment had assumed a triangular shape, never observed before. About the sores, Padre Pio gave me answers precise and detailed explanations, also explaining that the sores on the feet and side had an iridescent appearance.

After the examination, the Prelate wrote: “The stigmata in question are neither the work of the devil nor a gross deception nor a fraud.nor a malicious or evil art; less a product of external suggestion, nor do I consider them to be the effect of suggestion.

Bishop Rossi’s investigation began on June 14, 1921 and lasted eight days, after which he was able to verify that the distinctive elements “of the true stigmata would be found in those of Padre Pio.”

Furthermore, the Prelate could smell a special perfume emanating from the wounds, a fact that helped prove the fact to be true.

Bishop Rossi also wrote that Padre Pio was very gentle; much loved by his superiors for being “a great example and not a gossiper”; He dedicated between 10 and 12 hours a day to confession and celebrated Mass “with extraordinary devotion.”

What are stigmata?

The stigmata are the wounds that Christ suffered at the crucifixion: two on his feet, two on his hands and one on his side; that have appeared in some mystics.

Although stigmata are wounds, the medical point of view differs with this definition since they do not heal, not even when they are healed; They do not become infected or decompose, they do not degenerate into necrosis, they do not have a bad odor, and they also bleed constantly and profusely.

The stigmata are also the exact reproduction of the wounds of Jesus, according to studies of the Holy Shroud or Shroud, a cloth that according to tradition would have wrapped the body of Christ and which is preserved in Turin (Italy).

To recognize the stigmata as valid or real, the Church requires some conditions: they must all appear at the same time, they must cause an important modification in the tissues, they must remain unchanged and they must be free of infection or scarring.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia There are around 60 stigmatized people, including saints and blesseds.

Some of the most famous, besides Saint Francis of Assisi, are Saint Catherine of Siena (who prayed to God that they would not be visible), Saint Catherine of Ricci, Saint John of God, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, among others.