The Life of Padre Pio

In a fierce battle for souls, a twentieth century warrior emerged.

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He's known for his stigmata and his burning zeal to see sinners repent. This is the story of Padre Pio.

In the late nineteenth century in Italy, young Francesco Forgione prayed fervently in the fields, shunning games for penance. Even then, his deep piety hinted at the extraordinary spiritual path awaiting him. Francesco's boyhood was steeped in faith, fasting by age five, weeping over sins, and glimpsing visions of saints. A frail child marked for divine war. Drawn to the Capuchins, he took the name Pio in nineteen o three and was ordained seven years later.

As a priest, Pio was especially effective when hearing confessions in the sacrament of reconciliation. He had a zeal to see people truly turn from their sins, not just go through the motions. Those who did go through the motions were shocked. You see, Pio had the ability to perceive the sins that weren't being confessed, and sinners would break down in tears as he recounted their hidden sins, details he couldn't have known by any human means. His confessional became a battleground.

Each conversion drew hell's fury. As more and more people were drawn to the light of Christ through Pio's ministry, hell took notice. Then something else. On 09/20/1918, searing pain tore through his hands, feet, and side. The stigmata, the wounds of Christ, had come.

Now the war would escalate, and Satan would come after him personally. Friars would hear snarls in his cell at night, and Pio would later write of faceless figures and being hurled from the bed by invisible hands. He also described actually seeing the devil multiple times. Once as a monstrous dog, another time as a priest mocking god. Physical assaults left him bloodied.

Demons struck with iron clubs, he claimed. One night, unseen forces slammed him against walls. Bruises bloomed, but his defiance burned brighter. The Vatican took notice. In 1923, the Holy Office banned veneration of his wounds, suspecting fraud.

Doctors found no nerve damage, yet blood flowed fresh for fifty years. Rome silenced him. Pilgrims still came. Satan's siege intensified in the life of Padre Pio. Doubt, despair, and accusations of heresy clawed at his mind.

Begone, Satan, he roared, anointing the air with prayers. Pio taught that the devil is a chained dog. He roars but can't bite unless you stray near to him. For decades, he wore this creed like armor, confessing eighteen hours a day, and snatched souls back one by one from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. In 1933, Rome lifted restrictions, quietly conceding the inexplicable.

By 1947, millions flocked to his friary. The Vatican, once his judge, now built a hospital at his urging. Padre Pio passed away in 1968. And when he died, his stigmata vanished, leaving unblemished flesh. Thirty four years later, he was canonized as saint by pope John Paul the second.

Padre Pio was a twentieth century warrior priest, a soldier in the battle against darkness to claim souls for Christ. This is the Catholic Frequency Podcast. Subscribe to us on YouTube and visit our website, catholicfrequency.com. There, you can sign up for our free newsletter and receive a weekly devotion.