Lara Schumacher has witnessed firsthand the spiritual and physical transformations people undergo when they spend time venerating relics of a saint.
Catholics will get a chance to venerate and learn about one of their faith’s more modern and fascinating saints when relics of St. Padre Pio are displayed for veneration Sept. 6 by St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Ijamsville.
Schumacher, director of faith formation, evangelization of the family and youth at St. Ignatius, said the relics are visiting from the Saint Pio Foundation in Tuckahoe, N.Y., after the central Maryland parish answered a query about being a host.
The visit dovetails nicely with St. Ignatius’ devotion to honoring saints and displaying relics. The parish annually hosts an event each All Saints Day (Nov. 1) where its parishioners venerate relics on loan from private collections.
“I think this is so exciting,” said Schumacher, who has been a parish member since 2010 and faith director since last September. “I’ve personally seen people change both spiritually and physically by encountering the saints. We are so grateful to the Pio Foundation for this opportunity.
“We’re so excited given St. Padre Pio’s reputation as a beloved member of the body of Christ,” she said. “When you are in the presence of relics, you feel the saint’s presence closely. It grounds the supernatural. There’s always something spiritual or physical that can happen. That’s why people get so excited.”
The parish will host five relics of Padre Pio with veneration of the relics beginning at 11 a.m. in the main church. A talk will be given at 2 p.m. in the parish’ Polk Hall about the saint’s life by Julia Calandra-Lineberg of the St. Pio Foundation. Father Brian Nolan, pastor, will celebrate a Mass in honor of St. Padre Pio will be celebrated at 7 p.m. in the main church.
Padre Pio, noted for bearing the wounds of Christ, died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002 by then St. 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 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.
His daily Masses that he celebrated could last as long as three hours.
The relics on hand at St. Ignatius 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).
Schumacher said she expects at least 200 parishioners to attend the talk and Mass. She noted that the church seats 451, and said that all are welcome.
There is no charge for the events. Donations to the Pio Foundation are welcome, however.
“He speaks to people universally,” Schumacher said. “He was a very loving man, spending almost all of his time saying Mass or in the confessional. He was known as a tough man with a strong sense of humor.”
The parish is seeking volunteers to serve as relic guardians, greeters and merchandise table workers. To sign up to volunteer, click here.
OSV News contributed to this story.
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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