Padre Pio Research Paper

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Padre Pio was born to a small religious family in Pietrelcina, a small farming city in south Italy. When he was born he had an older brother, as time passed he received three younger siblings. While living in Pietrelcina, he was dedicated to the small church his family attended regularly and started to serve as an altar boy. By the time he reached five-years-old, he had made up his mind to spend the rest of his life serving God. Besides having many visions and epiphanies, he was able to speak to God, the Virgin Mary, and his guardian angel during his childhood. As he got older, he met a group of capuchin friars whom he was very interested in; after an interview the friars were very willing to accept Francesco but only after he received better …show more content…

After a few more years of education, Francesco was accepted to the capuchin order and he was confirmed. He took the name of Friar Francesco at this time after taking simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; he began his seven-year process to priesthood. He began to experience bothersome ailments like insomnia, exhaustion, fainting, and horrible migraines. As his health continued to worsen, the head of the order suggested he be sent to a mountain convent where the change of air might help. The superiors at the convent believed he should just return home; even after the second move he was still very ill. Regardless of his poor health, he continued to make strides in his priesthood and was officially ordained a priest in …show more content…

After very strange sicknesses plagued him- like fevers surpassing 108 degrees by a wide margin- he was discharged in 1918 after being declared unfit for military service. Later in the year 1918 while hearing confessions, Padre Pio received the stigmata, the physical marks of the crucifixion. His marks continued to hurt and bleed for fifty more years when he died in 1968. Pader Pio was always willing to hear a confession and would take the pains of the confessor onto himself, leaving the confessor with an easy penance. Although Pio was very forgiving, he could sense when a person was not truly sorrowful and would become very upset when they came for reconciliation. He frequently refused penance for unapologetic sinners. Quickly after World War I, Pio began to exhibit signs of holiness. He was capable of things such as bilocation, levitation, healing, prophecy, miracles, and unbelievable abstinence from necessities (one record shows that he was able to subsist off of nothing but the Eucharist for twenty days). During the 1960s, Pio’s health was consistently declining, but he continued his spiritual works. On September 22, 1968 Pio was supposed to give a mass, Pio collapsed at the end and had to be carried off by two Capuchin Friars. Early the next morning-around 2:00 – Pio renewed his Franciscan vows, prayed the rosary, and passed away shortly

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