Father Pio's Miracles |
It is very difficult to define the word "miracle". Miracles could be considered expressions of the supernatural. Also, we can say that a miracle is a phenomenon in which the heart obeys an interior force: the will of God!
Padre Pio's life was full of miracles, but the nature of the miracles was always divine. For this reason, Padre Pio invited people to thank God, the only source of miracles.
One miracle that has been identified as Padre Pio's first miracle occurred in 1908. At that time he lived in the monastery of Montefusco. One day he gathered chestnuts growing in a nearby forest into a bag and sent the bag to Pietrelcina to his aunt Daria. She always had a great affection for him. The woman received and ate the chestnuts. She saved the bag as a souvenir. A few days later she was looking for something in a drawer where her husband usually kept the gun powder. It was in the evening so she used a candle to light up the room when suddenly the drawer caught on fire, and aunt Daria’s face got burned. After a moment, she took the bag father Pio sent and put it on her face. Immediately, her pain disappeared and no wound or burn mark remained on her face. |
During the Second World War, in Italy, bread was being rationed. Padre Pio’s monastery always had a lot of guests and the poor who begged there for food. One day the Friars went to the refectory and realized that the basket only had about two pounds of bread. They prayed and sat down before starting to eat. Padre Pio went into the church, and a while later when he came back he was holding a pile of bread in his hands. The Superior asked Padre Pio: "Where did you get all these loaves of bread?" Padre Pio answered: "A pilgrim at the door gave them to me". Nobody commented, but everybody thought that only Padre Pio could meet such a pilgrim. |
Once in the monastery of Padre Pio, a friar forgot to consecrate the Hosts for Holy Communion. There were only a few Hosts available. But after confessions when Padre Pio started to distribute Hosts to the people, many Hosts remained at the end of the service, more than had been consecrated before. |
A spiritual daughter of Padre Pio was reading a letter from him on the side of a road. The wind blew the letter away, blowing it downhill to a meadow. The letter flew far, far away from the woman, and then suddenly it stopped flying and settled on a stone. In this way the woman got her letter back. The day after, she met Padre Pio who told her: "You have to pay attention to the wind next time. If I hadn't put my foot on the letter it would have flown far away into the valley". |
Mrs.
Cleonice, who was a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio, said: “During
the Second World War my nephew was a prisoner. We had not received news
for a year, and everybody believed he was dead. His parents were very
worried about his life. His mother went one day to Padre Pio and knelt
down in front of the friar who was in the confessional: “Please, tell
me if my son is alive. I won’t go away if you don’t tell me!” Padre
Pio sympathized with her, and
some
tears were on his face when he said: “Stand up and go in peace.” Some
days later, I couldn’t resist the thought of pain that the parents were
enduring, so I decided to ask Padre Pio for a miracle. I faithfully said:
“Father I’m going to write a letter
to my nephew Giovannino. I will write his name only on the envelope because
we do not know where he is. You and your Guardian Angel will take the
letter to him where he is.” - Padre Pio didn’t answer, so I wrote the
letter. In
the evening I put it on my bedside table before getting into bed. The
morning after, to my great surprise, astonishment and fear, I found that
the letter was not there anymore. I went in thanksgiving to Padre Pio
and he told me: “Give your thanks to Our Lady.” Almost fifteen days later
our nephew sent us a response to the letter. Then everybody in our family
was happy and giving thanks both to God and Padre Pio.” |
During the Second World War, Mrs. Luisa’s son was an officer
in the Royal British Navy. At that time she prayed every day for her son’s
conversion and salvation. One day an English pilgrim arrived to San Giovanni
Rotondo, carrying some English newspapers. Luisa wanted to read them.
She found a piece of news concerning the sinking of the warship on which
her son was stationed. She immediately went crying to Padre Pio, who consoled
her: “Who has told you that your son is dead?”
In fact, Padre Pio
was able to explain to her exactly the name and the address of the hotel
where the young officer was staying after he escaped from the shipwreck
in the Atlantic. He was there waiting
for a new assignment again. Immediately Luisa sent him a letter, and after
a couple of week she received an answer from her son. |
A
woman at San Giovanni Rotondo was such a good person that Padre Pio said
it was impossible to find any fault in her soul to forgive. In other words,
she lived to go to heaven. At the end of Lent, Paolina felt seriously
ill. The doctors said there were no hopes for her. Her husband and her
five children went to the convent to pray with Father Pio and ask him
to help her. Two of the five children pulled Father Pio’s habit and
cried. Father Pio got upset, but he tried to console them and promised
to pray for them, nothing else! Some days later, at the beginning
of the Seventh hour, the sainted Padre’s behavior changed. In fact, he
asked for
Paolina’s healing and told everybody: “She will resuscitate on Easter
Day.” But on Good
Friday Paolina lost consciousness as she fell into a coma.
On Saturday, after some hours, Paolina finally died. Some of her
relatives took her wedding dress in order to put it on her according to
an old tradition of the country. Other relatives ran to the convent to
ask Padre Pio for a miracle. He answered them: “She will be resuscitated”
and he went to the altar for the Holy Mass. When Padre Pio started to
sing the Gloria and the sound of the bells announced Christ’s resurrection,
Padre Pio’s voice broke off with a sob and his eyes were full of tears.
In the same moment, Paolina resuscitated. Without any help she got up
from the bed, she knelt down and she prayed for the Creed three times.
Then she stood up and smiled. She has recovered...or it should be better
to say: “She has resuscitated.“ In
fact padre Pio had not said, “she will recover” but “she will resuscitate.”
When she was asked what happened during the period when she was dead,
she answered: “I went up, went up, went up; when I entered into a great
light, I came back.” |
A
woman said: “My first daughter, who was born in 1953, was rescued
by Father Pio when she was eighteen months old. On the morning of January
6, 1955 my husband and I were in church attending the Holy Mass and our
daughter was at home with her grandfather. There was an accident: she
fell into a tub of boiling hot water. She was burned on her stomach and
back. The doctor came in an hour and he said, “take your daughter to a
hospital immediately because she could die from her wounds”. For this
reason he did not give us any medicine. After the doctor left I started
to pray for Father Pio’s help. It was nearly noon. As I was getting myself
ready to go to the Hospital, my daughter who was alone in the bedroom
called me: “Mommy, I don’t have
a wound anymore!” “Who has taken your wound?” I asked her out of curiosity.
She answered: “Father Pio has come. He took my wounds by putting his whole
hand on my burn”. Actually there was no sign of burns on my daughter’s
body even though the doctor had told me my daughter was going to die. |
The
peasants of San Giovanni Rotondo fondly remember the following event.
In spring, the almond trees were blossoming and they were promising a
good harvest. But unfortunately millions of voracious caterpillars arrived
and devoured the leaves and flowers. They did not spare even the
shell. After two days of trying to stop that infestation, the peasants, for
whom the almonds were the only economic resource - decided to speak to
Father Pio about the problem. Father Pio looked at the trees from the
window of the convent and decided to bless them. He put on the sacred
vestments and started to pray. When he finished praying he took the holy
water and made the sign of the Cross in the air, in the direction of the
trees. The next day, the caterpillars had disappeared but the almond trees
looked like sticks. It was a disaster: the harvest had been lost. What
happened next is incredible! We had the most abundant harvest; a harvest
like we had never seen before, but how is it possible that trees without
flowers could produce fruits? How was it possible to have fruit from trees
that looked like sticks? Scientists have never been able to give any reason
for this phenomenon. |
In the garden of the convent there were trees; cypresses,
some fruit and some pine. Especially on summer afternoons, Father Pio
used to stay in the shade together with his friends and guests in order
to have a little relief from the hot weather. Once when Father Pio was
speaking with some people a large number of birds suddenly started to
chirp and make noise from the shade of the trees. The birds had composed
a symphony. Father
Pio became annoyed with the symphony so, looking at the birds he said:
“Keep silent!” At which point, the birds, the crickets and the cicadas
fell silent. The people who were in the garden were greatly astonished!
In fact Father Pio had spoken to the birds like Saint Francis. |
A
gentleman said: “My mother came from Foggia and was one of the Father
Pio’s first spiritual daughters. She had asked Father Pio “to convert
and protect my father”. In April 1945 my father was condemned to be executed
by firing squad. He was in front of the platoon when he suddenly saw father
Pio appear in front of him to protect him. The commander of the platoon
gave the order to fire but no shots were fired from the rifles that were
pointed at him. The seven members of the platoon and their commander,
astonished, checked their rifles but they didn’t find any problem. So
the platoon again pointed their rifles at my father and the commander
ordered his soldiers to shoot again, but for a second time the rifles
did not work. This mysterious and inexplicable occurrence stopped his
execution. Afterward my father was pardoned due to having been awarded
a medal during the war; moreover he was disabled in action during the
war. After my father returned home, he converted to Catholicism, receiving
the sacraments at San Giovanni Rotondo, where he had gone to thank Father
Pio. In this way my mother obtained the miracles she had always asked
from Father Pio: “her husband’s conversion!” |
Father
Onorato said: “I went to San Giovanni Rotondo with a friend of mine by
motorcycle. I arrived at the convent some minutes before noon. After paying
my respects to the superior, I went to the refectory to meet Padre Pio
in order to kiss his hand. It should be taken into account that my motorbike
model was called “wasp” so Father Pio told me: “Son, did the ‘wasp’ sting
you?” I was quite surprised because Padre Pio had not seen me when I arrived
at the convent, but he knew what kind of transportation I had used to
get there. The next morning, we left San Giovanni Rotondo on my “wasp”
motorbike and set out for Saint Michel, a little town not far from Saint
Giovanni Rotondo. The gasoline tank was going empty, so we decided to
fill up at Monte Saint Angelo. But as soon as we reached that little town,
we had a bad surprise: all the gas stations were closed. At that point
we decided to go back to San Giovanni Rotondo, and hoped to find somebody
along the road who could provide us with some gasoline. I was worried
about my brothers in the convent; it would be ungracious not to be back
at the convent by lunchtime, for they were waiting for me. But low on
gas, the engine started to make noise, and after a few feet it stopped
altogether. We checked the tank; it was empty. With sadness I pointed
out to my friend that we had only ten minutes to reach the convent and
take part in the lunch with our brothers. We could not find any solution,
and for this reason my friend stomped on the starter pedal. Unbelievable!
The motorbike started again! We immediately set out for Saint Giovanni
Rotondo without asking ourselves how the motorbike had started without
gasoline. When we arrived in the middle of the square of the convent,
the motorbike stopped working again. We opened the tank and realized it
was still as dry as it was before. We were also astonished when we looked
at our watches: it was ten minutes before lunchtime. That meant we had
covered fifteen kilometers in five minutes: an average of 180 kilometers
per hour. Without gasoline! I entered the convent as the brothers were
coming down for lunch; and when I went to meet Father Pio, he was watching
me and smiling. |
It
was the month of May in 1925. Maria
had a little baby who had been ill since birth. Maria was very worried
about her baby. In fact, after a medical visit, she was told her child
had a very complicated illness. There was no hope for the baby: he could
not recover. Maria decided to go by train to Saint Giovanni Rotondo. She
lived in a very little town in the south of Puglia (a poor region in the
South of Italy), but she had heard some stories concerning Padre Pio,
a friar who had the stigmata like Jesus, worked miracles, healed people
of their diseases, and gave hope to the hopeless. She immediately set
out, but during the trip the baby died. She watched over his little body
all night, then placed it in a suitcase and closed it. The following day
she arrived at the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo. She had no hope, but
she had not lost her faith. That evening she met Padre Pio. She was in
the line of people waiting for confession, and she had in her hands the
suitcase that contained her son’s body. Her son had died twenty-four hours
before. When she arrived in front of Father Pio, she knelt down, cried,
and asked his help. He looked at her intently. The mother opened the suitcase
and showed Father Pio the corpse. The poor padre was very shocked by the
mother’s sorrow. He took the little body and put his hand on the boy’s
head; then he prayed, looking up to Heaven. In a moment, the poor creature
was alive again. A gesture, a movement of the feet, the arms...he looked
as if he had just awakened after a long sleep. Speaking to the mother
Padre Pio said: “Mother, why are you crying? Your son is sleeping!” The
mother’s shouts of joy, and those of the crowd, filled the church.
Everyone spoke about the miracle! |
In
the evening an engineer was staying late at the convent, but, when
he decided to leave, he noticed it was raining. So he told Padre Pio,
“I do not have any umbrella! Could I stay here until tomorrow morning?
If not I will get wet.” - “I am sorry my dear, it is not possible. But
don’t worry! I will keep you company!” answered Father Pio. But that engineer
had thought it would be much better for Father not to do that penance,
although it would have been less treacherous with Padre Pio’s assistance.
Anyway, he put on his hat and started to cover the two miles between the
convent and the town. But as soon as he went out he realized with surprise
it was not raining anymore. It was just drizzling when he arrived at the
home where he was a guest. “My God!” the woman who opened the door exclaimed.
“You must be wet to the bone!” - “Not
at all,” the engineer answered. “It is not raining.” At that point, the
peasants who were hosting him looked at each other dumbfounded. “What!
It is not raining anymore? It is pouring! Listen!” They opened the door
again and it was raining. They told him it had been raining for an hour
without interruption. “How did you manage to come here without getting
wet?" they asked him. The engineer answered, “Padre Pio told me he
would have come here together with me.” Then the peasants realized it
had been Padre Pio’s miracle and they were able to tell him, “Now everything
is clear if Padre Pio told you that.” Everything has been cleared and
they found themselves in the kitchen for dinner when the woman said, “For
sure Padre Pio’s company is much better than an umbrella!” |
A
man from Ascoli Piceno (an Italian city) said, “Toward the end of the
1950s, I went to Saint Giovanni Rotondo with my wife to go to confession,
and I received absolution after Padre Pio’s counsel and penance. In the
evening I was still in the convent and Padre Pio saw me again and he said,
'Are you still here?' - 'My “little mouse” did not start,' I answered.
- 'What exactly is a little mouse?' Padre
Pio asked. 'It is my car,' I answered, 'a little mouse model.' - 'Let’s
go and have a look,' said Father Pio. He invited me to leave the monastery,
which we did without any problem. We traveled all the night and day and
the following morning, I took my car to the mechanic in order to have
him look at it. The mechanic told me, after his checks that the
electric system of the car was out of order. And he did not believe me
when I told him I had traveled in the car all night. In fact, it was impossible
to cover two hundred miles, between San Giovanni Rotondo and Ascoli Piceno,
with such a car, and I realized Padre Pio had helped me, so I thanked
him in my mind. |
A
good woman’s husband was very sick. The woman ran to the convent, but
she asked herself, “How do I reach father Pio?" She had to
wait for at least three days if she wanted to meet him for a confession.
So during the Mass she stood-up and walked from one side of the Church
to the other. Finally, she decided to tell Our Lady what her problem was
and asked at the same moment for Padre Pio’s help. After the Mass, she
started to move into the Church again, in order to reach Father Pio. Finally,
she managed to reach the famous corridor where Father Pio had to pass.
As soon as father Pio watched her, he said: “Woman with a little faith,
when will you finally ask for my help? Do you think I am deaf? You have
already told me it five times when you were in front of me, at my back,
on my right and on my left. I understood! I understood! ...Go home! Everything
is OK." She went home and found her husband was healed. |
In the book of the convent, on the line of October 23rd, 1953, this annotation can be read. "This morning Miss Amelia Z., a blind girl who was born blind, who is 27 years old, has come from the province of Vicenza (Italy) and she started seeing. She has asked to padre Pio to have her sight after her confession. Padre Pio said: "Be faithful and pray a lot". In the same moment the young girl saw Padre Pio: the face, the hand, the half gloves that hid the stigmatas. The sight has quickly increased. She informed Padre Pio about the miracle and he said: "We can say thanks to the Lord." Then the young girl asked the complete sight from Padre Pio and he said: "Step by step and it will come." |