There were cloths showing the blood from his stigmata, the gloves which hid the wounds on his hands, or the confessional where they say he spent countless hours absolving sins.
Just a few steps from the Vatican, on the Via della Conciliazione, this exhibit featured some of the personal belongings of St. Pius of Pietrelcina â?? Padre Pio. He is the famous saint, also known for his stigmata, whose body was transferred to the Vatican on February 5th accompanied in procession by large crowds.
GIOVANNA DRAGANO
'St. Piusâ? Exhibition
'In addition to the confessional and liturgical vestments he used at his last Mass, which are not normally shown to the public.'
For example, this shirt was stained by the blood of the stigmata on Good Friday 1921. The relic was kept in a cloistered convent, so few people have had the chance to see it.
'I'm seeing these clothes and I'm really moved by themâ?.
'I think I'm reliving what my mother told me about those years.â?
Great numbers of people in Italy have a special devotion to Padre Pio, but this fervor has become global. Heâ??s a Saint known for his reputation as a great confessor.
P. CARLO CALLONI
Postulator General OFM Capuchin
'The most profound gift Padre Pio has was the capacity to read consciences. FLASH. Many began to enumerate their sins and he interrupted them saying: Yes, yes ... I know your sinsâ?.
Padre Pio was canonized by John Paul II in June 2002. Padre Pioâ??s remains brought thousands of pilgrims to Rome to venerate the saint. The departure of his body from the Vatican on Thursday, February 11th, came eight days after it was brought to Rome from San Giovanni Rotondo, the southern Italian town where Padre Pio spent most of his life.
The Pope wanted his body to remain in St. Peterâ??s to remember the importance of forgiveness and confession in the Church especially during this Jubilee year.
