Catholics of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will get a couple more chances to venerate and learn about one of their faith’s more modern and fascinating saints when churches in Towson and Glyndon display the relics of St. Padre Pio.
The relics are scheduled for stops at Immaculate Conception Church and at Sacred Heart Church.
Immaculate Conception will host veneration Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a Mass at 5:30 p.m., while Sacred Heart will host veneration Nov. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. and Nov. 9 from 8:30 a.m to 1 p.m. and a Mass Nov. 9 at 8 a.m.
St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Ijamsville hosted the relics Sept. 6 and St. John the Evangelist in Frederick hosted them on Oct. 25.
Padre Pio, noted for bearing the wounds of Christ, died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, with whom he had been friends since 1947.
Born Francesco Forgione in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, the future saint entered the Capuchin Franciscan order at age 15 and was ordained in 1910. Between 1915 and 1918, he served intermittently in the Italian Army’s medical corps during World War I, but was ultimately discharged due to poor health. He returned to his monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy, and in 1918 received the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), the first priest to receive such marks in the history of the Catholic Church.
Amid sustained physical and spiritual suffering – compounded by austerity and long hours of prayer – he established Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, now a renowned national research hospital located in San Giovanni Rotondo. The Capuchin also devoted himself to the healing of souls, often spending more than 15 hours a day hearing confessions.
The daily Masses that he celebrated could last as long as three hours.
The relics on hand will include a crust of one St. Padre Pio’s wounds, a handkerchief that he used to wipe his tears,a lock of his hair, one of his gloves and a piece of his mantle (a loose garment).
There is no charge for the events. Donations to the Pio Foundation are welcome, however.
OSV News contributed to this story.
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