Pio of Pietrelcina
| Saint Pio of Pietrelcina Padre Pio, O.F.M.Cap. |
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| Priest, Religious, , Stigmatist and Confessor | |
| Born | Francesco Forgione May 25, 1887 Pietrelcina, Benevento, Italy |
| Died | September 23, 1968 (aged 81) San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 2 May 1999, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 16 June 2002, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Major shrine | San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy |
| Feast | 23 September |
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Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Italian: Pio da Pietrelcina), O.F.M. Cap. (May 25, 1887 – September 23, 1968), was a friar, priest, stigmatist, and , now venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. Born Francesco Forgione, he was given the name of Pius (Italian: Pio) when he joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
Padre Pio became famous for exhibiting stigmata for most of his life, thereby generating much interest and controversy. He was both beatified (1999) and canonized (2002) by Pope John Paul II.
Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa Di Nunzio (1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania. His parents made a living as peasant farmers. He was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle. He later served as an altar boy in this same chapel. His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun). His parents had two other children who died in infancy. When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco. He stated that by the time he was five years old, he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God. He began taking on penances and was chided on one occasion by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping on the stone floor. He worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned. This delayed his education to some extent.
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