Father Pio's celestial perfumes |
Some
Saints possessed the gift that is known as “odor
of sanctity”. The phenomenon is called osmogenesia. This gift allows somebody
to perceive the Saint’s presence in the smell of personal perfumes. St.Pio has
the gift of holy perfumes called odors of holiness, therefore; the people who
were next to him, could very often smell his perfumes. The perfume often emanated
from his body or from the objects that he touched or from his clothing. Sometimes
the perfume was perceivable in the places through which he passed.
One
day, a famous Doctor had removed a bandage from a sore on padre Pio’s
chest. The gauze was saturated
with the blood and the doctor had enclosed it in a container in order
to bring the gauze to his laboratory. During the trip to Rome to analyze
the gauze, an Officer and other people that were traveling with the doctor
said “they smelled the perfume that usually emanated from padre Pio”.
Not one of those persons knew that the doctor had the gauze soaked with
the blood of St. Padre Pio in the container. The doctor saved that gauze
in his laboratory, and the strange perfume had stayed in the room for
long time, so that when the patients went to him for the medical visits,
they asked him for an explanation. |
Friar
Modestino said: “Once I was on vacation at St. Giovanni Rotondo. I went
to Padre Pio in the sacristy that morning to serve the Holy Mass, but
other monks were already arguing in the sacristy as to who would have
this privilege. Padre Pio interrupted those discussions by saying – ‘only
he will serve the Holy Mass’ - and he pointed me out! I accompanied Padre Pio to St. Francis altar,
I closed the gate, and I started to serve the Holy Mass in profound awe.
When the Mass got to the point of the “Sanctus” I suddenly had a desire
to smell again that indescribable perfume that I had already perceived
when I had kissed Padre Pio’s hand. The desire was immediately granted
me and it was like I was wooed by St. Pio’s perfume. The perfume increased
more and more, so much so that the perfume caused me to breathe irregularly.
I leaned my hand on the communion rail so as not to fall! I was about
to faint when I mentally asked Padre Pio to save me from embarrassment
in front of the people. In that precise instant the perfume disappeared.
In the evening, while I accompanied him to his room, I asked Padre Pio
for an explanation about that phenomenon. He answered me: “My child, I
am not able to explain it. “God intervenes to allow somebody to smell
the perfume whenever He wants.” |
From my small window (I was on
one side of the confessional) I saw that Padre Pio was hearing the confession
of a lady on the other side. While
I thought that I was going to |
A
lady from Bologna, who was 24 years old, had her right arm fractured.
The same arm had been operated three years prior because of a serious
accident. After an operation followed by a long painful recovery the surgeon
told the girl’s father that she would not have use of the arm anymore.
In fact the arm was completely immobile, because of the removal of a section
of the shoulder blade. A bone graft had not succeeded! Father and injured daughter departed for St.
Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio met them, he blessed them and he declared:
“Above all do not despair! Confide in God! The arm will recover.” Toward
the end of July, 1930 the woman returned to Bologna without any improvement
of her arm. Was it possible to think that Padre Pio had been wrong? For
months nobody thought anymore of the problem. On the 17th.of September
(the celebration of the stigmata of St. Francis), suddenly, the apartment
where the family lived became scented by a delicious odor of jonquils
and roses. The scented phenomenon lasted about a quarter of an hour while
everybody tried to understand where that perfume originated. From that
day the girl started to use her arm again. An X-Ray which she preserved
jealously, showed that the bone and the cartilage were completely fused
and healed. |
A man said: “One day
I decided to follow my wife’s suggestion to go see Padre Pio. It had been
twenty-five years precisely from the day of my marriage since I had seen
the inside of a church. I felt my years of guilt weighing me down and
I needed to confess my sins, but as soon as I was next to Padre Pio, he
said brusquely (without looking at me): “Go away!” I answered: “I am here to confess, that you
may give me Jesus’ absolution.” I
had spoken roughly to him, but he roughly responded: “I have said: “Go
away.” I went away running across the garden from the small Church then
onto the hotel. My wife, who had seen me go out of the Church, reached
me at the hotel. “What has happened? What are you doing?” she questioned
me. “I am packing my suitcase and I am leaving,”
I answered. At that moment a cloud
of perfume wooed me. It was an intense perfume, marvellous to the senses.
I was confused. It soothed me instantly and I felt inside me a great desire
to return to Padre Pio. It took me a day to muster enough courage to return
to the Padre. I prepared myself,
carefully I examined my conscience before meeting the Padre who kindly
welcomed me and gave me absolution I needed.” |
A lady said: “My husband
was in an automobile accident and was critically injured. He was transported
to the hospital in Taranto, Italy. The doctors had no hope of his survival.
On the hospital grounds there was a shrine dedicated to Padre Pio.
Before visiting my husband I would stop and pray to Padre Pio for
my husband’s recovery. One day, as I stood there praying, the “Saintly”
Pio smells, a marvellous perfume of lilies engulfed me. I took it as a sign that my prayer request had
been heard. From that moment on, the condition of my husband improved
and he healed from the injuries he sustained.” |
A gentleman from Toronto
said: “In 1947, my wife that fell seriously ill and was hospitalised in
Rome, requiring surgery. I travelled to St. Giovanni, Rotondo to see Padre
Pio. While I was there, the good
Padre heard my confession. After
receiving the absolution, I talked to the Padre about my wife’s condition.
Then I asked him: “Father, help me to pray!” Immediately I smelled a delicious
and persistent perfume that surprised me. I returned home in the late
evening. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled again that same scent
that I had smelled when I was next to Father Pio. I became confident.
My wife underwent the operation without any problems. I told her the marvellous
experience that I had and together we thanked Padre Pio.” |
A married couple in
England were experiencing problems and were at a point of despair. They
did not know where to turn to. Someone spoke to them about Padre Pio. They
wrote to Padre Pio about their problems but did not receive any answer. They, then decided to go to St. Giovanni Rotondo
to meet the Padre and obtain his wise counsel. From England to Puglia
(Italy), the journey was long! Moreover, it was in the middle of winter
with snowy conditions prevailing. Despite
the weather, they embarked on their journey. They spent their first night
in Bern in a lowly hotel for that was all they could afford. Doubts filled them once more. They wondered
what they would do if the Padre did not receive them. Should they continue
with their journey or turn back. As they were debating on their options,
the room was filled with a sweet, intoxicating perfume,
that had a very relaxing effect on them. The woman began to look
for the source of the perfume and thought that some distracted traveller,
before them had left a bottle of perfume in the room. The search for the
perfume’s source was fruitless! Awhile later the perfume smell faded away
and the room emanated the usual odor of a stench. The married couple shared
their experience with the innkeeper. He was surprised as it was the first
time that any of his clients believed to have smelled perfume in their
room. The couple instead took it as a sign to continue with their journey
to St. Giovanni Rotondo and to meet Padre Pio. When they got there, the
young man, who was well versed in Italian, spoke to the Padre in Italian:
“We wrote to you, Father, but since you have not answered us…” “What?” Padre Pio interrupted saying: “ Why
do you tell me I did not answer you? Did you not smell anything that evening
in the Swiss hotel?” The two lovers were joyful and full of thankfulness.
They understood then, the perfume that they had smelled in the room of
the hotel, was the perfume of Padre Pio. With just a few words of counselling,
Padre Pio helped them to resolve their problems.” |
A
gentleman met Father Pio through a series of strange coincidences. He
says: “The first time I heard somebody speak of this extraordinary religious
man was after the war. A friend of mine knew the Padre well. He spoke
enthusiastically of him. But I thought to myself his stories about the
holy man were a bit much. So I must confess my initial reactions were
indifference and disbelief. This was especially true when my friend told
me about various phenomena attributed to Padre Pio, especially the scent
of perfumes. “Many people claim to detect an aroma of perfume even when
they are not any where near the sainted Friar.
You can imagine my surprise when this started to happen to me.
I would catch the aroma of violets in unusual places, where even the hint
of a flower could not be found. I began to wonder about myself. I started
to doubt my senses. I
|
Another
person once remarked : “Some years ago, I had a heart attack. The doctors
recommended I undergo surgery to
improve my condition. I entered the hospital at once. It was in June
1991. During the surgery, the doctors did a quadruple bypass. When I awoke
from the anesthesia, my leg and right arm were paralyzed . I was really
discouraged. After awhile, my faith returned and I began to pray to Padre
Pio for help. I pleaded with him for three days. On the third day, as
I was finishing my prayer, despite being surrounded by other patients,
I noticed something significant. I caught a whiff of an overwhelming aroma
of flowers. When the perfumed aroma faded, I felt a sensation in my right
leg. I knew at once my prayers had been answered.” |
A woman tells this story: “I had
great problems with both of my eyes. I experienced pain and could see
very little. I consulted several doctors and after several examinations,
they gave me the diagnosis: irreversible ocular hemorrhage. They added
there was a probably a tumor present also. To make matters worse,
the doctors told me this form of
blindness was final. There was no cure. “Upon hearing this bad news, I
became very depressed and anxious. I was
on a trip and I knew I would be passing close to Benevento. So
I decided to go as far as Pietreicina, where I would have an opportunity
to visit Padre Pio’s monastery. During my visit to one of the last rooms
where St. Pio had lived, I was deeply moved. I had been praying
for my relatives and all of a sudden, caught the scent of an intense burst
of incense. “While I was returning
to Rome by train, I thought a lot about what had happened in that room
in Padre Pio’s monastery I decided
to plead with Padre Pio to heal my damaged eyes. I turned to him
with as much faith as I could muster. Padre Pio didn’t
take long to hear my prayers. In fact, my sight progressively improved
and before too long, I was totally healed. The doctors who examined me
later could not believe I was completely and inexplicably recovered.” |
A
man from Canicatti (Sicily, Italy) tells this story “At the start of 1953,
my wife was pregnant. The problem was she also had a serious kidney problem.
The doctors told her that because of this kidney problem, ‘the child’s
life was in danger.’ Any surgery performed to correct this problem had
to succeed, or else. On May 3rd, I was desperate. I wrote a letter to
Padre Pio asking for his help. A few days later, my wife and I were in
different rooms, yet at the same time, we both smelled a mysterious aroma
of roses. At that precise moment, the mail carrier knocked on our door
and delivered a letter to us from the monastery of St. Giovanni Rotondo.
We read that Padre Pio would pray for my wife and our unborn child. The
next day, my wife underwent another medical exam and we were told by the
examining physician the kidney ailment had disappeared.” |
A
lawyer who was very devoted to Father Pio says:
“Once I was in the old church in the monastery attending one of
Padre Pio’s long Masses. At the moment of the consecration of the Sacred
Host, I became distracted. I was the only person standing in the middle
of the crowd of believers who were all kneeling. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed
by a powerful aroma of violets. The scent was so strong it jolted
me back to the present moment. Looking around me, I knelt down without
thinking anything about the unusual perfume that hovered above me. As
was my custom, after the Mass was over, I went to greet Padre Pio. He
welcomed me saying ‘Were you a little disoriented today?’ I sheepishly
said ‘Yes, Padre. I have been a bit absent-minded today, but fortunately,
your perfume woke me up.’ He said simply.: ‘For you, perfume is not necessary.
For you, slaps are necessary.’” |
Monk Ludovico of St. Giovanni Rotondo said that "Padre Pio left a wake of perfume, when he passed for the several places of the convent. |
Father Fred said: "Sometimes, if you wanted to know where Padre Pio was, it was enough to follow the wake of the perfume. |
Mr. Peter says: "One day I was travelling by car and I was running very fast. Suddenly I felt a wave of perfume. I remembered one day I had asked the meaning of that phenomenon to the Saint and Padre Pio told me: "My child, when you feel the perfume, be careful". In that instant I stop running but I could not avoid to have a crash with the car. However I didn't have any damages to myself. |