Born in Italy in 1887, Saint Padre Pio was raised by his parents who were poor farmers but had a deep love for God. He was known as Francesco in his youth. When he was fifteen, he took the name “Pio” in honor of Pope Pius I, whose relic was kept in a chapel in his hometown. Francesco was different than the other children; while the other little boys played, he was enamored by God. Francesco could see his beauty everywhere, in the clouds and in the stars. His awareness of God allowed him to see things very clearly. He understood justice. He had no trouble knowing the difference between good and evil, purity and impurity. This divine awareness also gave him the grace and gentleness to conform himself to his goal of holiness.

In 1910, after years of study with an order of Capuchin friars, Pio became a priest. However, he was quickly sent back home due to his poor health. In 1915, he was brought into the military medical service but was dismissed later because of his frequent illness. Soon after this dismissal, he began to feel pain on his hands and feet. Soon he had the open wounds that mirrored those of Christ. This is known as the stigmata. Padre Pio had these bleeding wounds until his death. Over the fifty years that he endured them, they never got infected and they actually smelled like roses. Doctors could not find a scientific explanation for the stigmata, but the burden of these perfectly round wounds brought throngs of pilgrims.

Known as a great mystic of the church, Padre Pio was attributed with many prophecies of upcoming events. He predicted the dates of conversions, the genders of babies, and he could honestly tell people the day that they would die. He could also read souls. He once told a woman that if she was able to imitate Mary Magdalene in her sinfulness then she should also have the courage to imitate her penance. In the confessional he could tell a person how many times they missed Mass, the number of promises broken, mortal sins omitted, and venial sins that shouldn’t be committed again.

Padre Pio is credited with many conversions. It should be noted that many of these could be seen as greater miracles than the physical cures he performed because they were almost always permanent. One example of this was when a Lawyer from Genoa, Italy came to him. When Padre Pio saw the man, he called out “What are you doing here? You are a Mason!” After some back-and-forth yelling, the Lawyer knelt before the Friar and admitted to having a sense of peace in his soul. This same man later went on to carry infirm pilgrims to the healing springs in Lourdes, France.

Many physical healings happened when God worked his grace through Padre Pio. A girl’s broken bones fused together for no other reason than his intercession. A child with meningitis was sent home to die, but Pio’s prayers cured him. A military chaplain armed with only a Padre Pio blessed cross saw tens of thousands of soldiers in a hospital escape death.

In line with the topic of the military is the account of one of Pio’s many instances of bilocation. A young fighter pilot realized that his plane was on fire. He ejected from his plane and tried to trigger his parachute, but it didn’t open. He faced the ground and his certain death. Then "a certain friar" caught him mid-air and carried him safely to earth. The pilot’s mother later revealed that she had prayed to Padre Pio for her son’s safety.

In 1968, three days after the 50th anniversary of his stigmata, Padre Pio passed from this earthly realm to the next. Fittingly, the man whose wounds were such a profound physical reminder of Jesus’s presence disappeared once Padre Pio died. It only seemed natural for someone who was so supernatural. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

It can be easy to forget that our lives are made up of two realities: a physical one and a spiritual one. We experience the physical realm through our senses, but there is more to life than just this. After all, we have a body AND a soul. Most of us go through life unaware of the spiritual realm. For Saint Padre Pio knowing about the supernatural aspects of God’s creation came naturally.