Pio of Pietrelcina
Italian Capuchin Catholic priest
Died when: 81 years 121 days (975 months)Star Sign: Gemini
Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and also Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic.
He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, celebrated on 23 September. Padre Pio joined the Capuchins at fifteen, spending most of his religious life in the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo.
In 1918, his body was marked by stigmata, leading to several investigations by the Holy See, who also imposed temporary limitations on his public appearances.
He was involved in the construction of the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, a hospital built near the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo.
From the appearance of his stigmata until his death, Pio de Pietrelcina was the object of growing popularity among believers, attracting many devotees to San Giovanni Rotondo.
Multiple mystical phenomena were reported throughout his life. After his death, his devotion spread throughout the world, emphasized by his beatification in 1999 and his canonization on 16 June 2002 by Pope John Paul II.
His relics are exposed in the sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, next to the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, now a major pilgrimage site.
