"You think you know my love for you but you don't
know that it is much greater than you can imagine. I follow you with
my prayers, with my suffering and with my tears."
- St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Drinking Problem Late one night walking to my home from work, I was praying the Rosary for help to overcome a problem I had with alcohol, which was worsening. I was newly married, had an infant son and I realized that unless my drinking problem was defeated my future would be filled with disaster. I was determined to overcome the problem and in my worry about it, I turned to Padre Pio for help as I prayed the Rosary. Suddenly I became aware of a fragrance of indescribable character. It seemed to envelop me with its delightful aroma, which produced a deep sense of peace and satisfaction. Suddenly the fragrance stopped. A few steps later I was home and as was my practice, the first thing I did, was to visit my infant son asleep in his crib. As I entered my son's room, again, the fragrance returned. Then it vanished. Remember, I had asked Padre Pio to help me overcome my alcohol problem. Quite amazingly I must tell you, from the night of the fragrance to this very day, I developed and have maintained a deep disgust for alcohol, and for more than twenty years have had no desire whatsoever to drink alcohol in any form. It was after this experience that I learned that Padre Pio often uses fragrances as a sign that a prayer will be answered.
- Name Withheld

My Prayer Petition was Taken to Padre Pio's Tomb I had a dear childhood friend, Timothy, who had been homeless for five years after struggling with addiction and depression. He had no family and his whereabouts was unknown to all of his former friends, including myself. I was able to send a written prayer petition concerning Timothy with another friend who was visiting the tomb of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. Out of millions of homeless people, my old friend, Timothy was chosen to be helped in a special way by a non-profit organization that works to rehabilitate those who are addicted and in great need. They raised a lot of money for him, sent him to rehab, and found distant family members that he never knew he had. His relatives then took him in to their home. He now lives near them, has a job and an apartment. He is happy with his new life. The odds of this happening and of me finding out about it stagger all comprehension and I give all glory to all powerful and all loving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through the intercession of Padre Pio.
- Jim Stewart

Healed in a Dream After suffering for ten years, in December, 1983, I started the novena to Padre Pio. In February, my condition grew worse. My ankles became swollen and the pain was unbearable. On February 10th, I was healed in a dream. I was in a beautiful chapel and Padre Pio came to me. He told me to sit and then he touched my swollen ankles. He touched my back and then he said, "Get up and walk. You are healed." I awoke immediately from my bed and I walked without a single pain in my body. That morning I attended Mass to thank our Lord. The pain came back, but only for a moment because soon what felt like a warm hand touched my back and took my pain away. I have never known that pain again.
- G. W. Collins

Consolation through Padre Pio's Intercession I lost my only son very tragically last year. I was very troubled as to whether my son was happy in his new dwelling. I prayed faithfully and daily to Padre Pio for some sign from my son. One night my son came to me in a dream and told me that God was very just and that he, my son, was happier than he had ever been on earth. I feel that this was more than a dream.
- M. Feeney

Healing from Cancer We were asked to pray a novena to Padre Pio for a 13 year old lad who was dying from progressive malignant cancer in the lower abdomen. The sick child, Michael Andrews, had a tumor the size of a baseball sitting on his left pelvis and it could be clearly seen and felt as a large swelling. One night, Michael's mother heard him shouting and screaming in pain. She rushed to his room but when she got there she found him sound asleep. She was mystified. Something made her look behind at the Padre Pio picture in his bedroom. All the white areas in the picture were glowing in the dark. In order to ensure that it was not some light creeping in, she closed all the doors. However, the picture of Padre Pio continued to glow. She ran her fingers over the glowing areas. They were real enough. After a little while the visitation went away and all fell into darkness. Next morning Michael found that the large tumor so prominent in his lower abdomen had disappeared. When taken back to the hospital, the doctor could find nothing.
- M. Shaw

Mental Anxiety I would like to share with you the grace I received from Padre Pio. In October of 1987, I was very depressed and nearly had a nervous breakdown. Because of this mental state, my thoughts were very threatening and very, very frightful. In my darkest moment, my mother introduced me to Padre Pio and told me he would help. From that day onward I put all my trust and faith in Padre Pio and prayed to him daily for a cure for my state of mind. Then one night, I awoke suddenly and saw the figure of a monk in a brown robe with a beard. The next morning I told my mother of this experience. She told me it was Padre Pio watching over me. From that night onward I began to feel better. Today I feel great and I am a dedicated follower of Padre Pio.
- Name Withheld

Father John brought Padre Pio's Glove to Children's Hospital My daughter Elizabeth was 8 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease, a type of cancer. She stayed at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Dublin for a number of weeks. I used to visit her on my lunch break from work every day and also at the end of my work day before going home. Her throat was affected by the disease and she lost the ability to speak. One day a nun, who was the head nurse on my daughter's ward, pulled me aside to speak to me privately. She did not want my wife to overhear our conversation as she said that my wife seemed to be a very emotional person. She told me that Elizabeth was not going to survive the cancer.

After she told me that, I went to the Capuchin Friary at St. Mary of the Angels in Dublin. One of the Capuchin's, Father John, had a glove of Padre Pio's. I asked him to visit Elizabeth and bless her with it. I have had a devotion to Padre Pio for many years. I have also attended daily Mass for almost 50 years, since the year of my marriage in 1960.

Father John came to the hospital and blessed Elizabeth with the glove as well as all of the other children who were there. Not long after, I was having a meal at the Fish and Chips restaurant on Kimmage Road in Dublin. Suddenly, the whole area was pervaded with the fragrance of roses. I instantly knew it was Padre Pio. I also thought to myself that it was an odd place for him to make his presence known.

A few days later, I spoke to the head nurse again. She told me that she had astounding news for me - all of Elizabeth's tests were normal. My daughter recovered rapidly and completely and her voice came back full strength. When she got older, she sang professionally throughout Europe.

I believe that through the intercession of Padre Pio, my daughter was healed.
- Michael Gormley

Nervous Breakdown   I made a novena to Padre Pio about four weeks ago for my brother. For the last seven years he has been homebound after having a nervous breakdown. He had been on medication and seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis. Instead of getting better he was getting worse. He stopped going out completely. We were all concerned for him as he is only 34 years old and living the life of a recluse while being dependent on my elderly parents. I made the novena as suggested. One day after the novena (my mother did not know that I made this novena) my mother informed me that my brother had actually gone out on his own for a walk and then a few days later he went for a drive with my mother. This was a giant step from how he was before. His doctor is very impressed with his improvement and has cut back his medication. He is now going for walks on his own. He is actually driving alone now and even talking of trying to seek employment. This is truly a miracle.
- Name Withheld

My Mother-in-Law was Healed    I am from Cebu City, Philippines. One day when I passed by Cebu Cathedral Church, I noticed a great crowd of people were there for the Mass. When I went inside, I saw that a picture of Padre Pio surrounded by beautiful flowers had been placed on the altar. I asked someone what the occasion was and I was told that it was a Mass in honor of Padre Pio because he was going to be canonized soon. I stayed for the Mass and ever since that time I have had a devotion to Padre Pio. I pray to him every day and I pray to him like a father.  My wife and I have felt his blessings in our life. 

In October of 2004, my mother-in-law, Josefina DeLira (Mama Fe) was taken to the Perpetual Succor Hospital in Cebu City. The ultra sound revealed that she had kidney stones and would have to have surgery to remove them. When my wife, Liza Joy and I got to the hospital, we brought Mama Fe a little icon of St. Pio. Mama Fe was very scared about having the surgery. We told her not to worry about anything. The truth is that my wife and I were very worried about her condition and were also worried because we did not have the money to pay for the operation or for any of the other medical expenses. Mama Fe has no medical insurance. We did not want her to know of our fears and so for her peace of mind, we told her we could handle the doctor bills even though we did not know how we would be able to.  We told her not to worry about anything but to put all her trust in St. Pio. She said that she would.

Early the next morning, Mama Fe suffered a tremendous pain in her stomach. It was so severe that she could not even cry out for a nurse to come and assist her. She reached for the icon of St. Pio and placed it on her abdomen and prayed for him to help her. Then she fell into a deep sleep. She woke up to find the doctor at her bedside, examining her. A test revealed that all of the kidney stones had disappeared. The doctor was so surprised. He could not believe what had happened. No surgery was necessary and Mama Fe was then released from the hospital. I know that this healing was brought about through the intercession of St. Pio, who is very close to God, Jesus and Mother Mary. Thank you St. Pio for everything.
- Celestino Petallar

Healing from Terminal Cancer  Luigi Antonelli, the playwright, went to the doctor and cancer was found covering the area between his ear and his shoulder. The doctors told him that with surgery, he would be able to live for six more months but without it, he only had three months to live.

He would have undergone the operation immediately, had not one of his friends advised him to go to San Giovanni Rotondo and see Padre Pio. Luigi agreed and attended Padre Pio's Mass and afterward went to confession. What happened during this confession? Antonelli found it difficult to describe even though he was a man who had a way with words. During confession he had a long conversation with Padre Pio and the longer it went on, the more his soul was transported into a celestial state. At the same time he felt a kind of current circulating in his body, eradicating all traces of the cancer.

When he got off his knees, Antonelli felt in good health. His soul, as well as his body, had been cured. He took up all his activities without ever experiencing again the slightest symptoms of cancer.

Healing from Alcoholism   I am an alcoholic and had to be hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning. All of the doctors concerned pronounced me a vegetable. The brain damage was so severe, the doctors said there was no hope of recovery. With the best medical care and attention, there was no hope at all. Some person, of whom I do not know to this day, left a picture of Padre Pio beside my bed and it was from then on that I began to get better. I am now completely and fully healed with no sign of brain damage. I am also a recovered alcoholic and have been for many years.
- Name Withheld

Pray for the Souls in Purgatory    In 1964, I traveled from the Philippines to San Giovanni Rotondo with my parents and siblings to visit Padre Pio. However, we were unable to see him because he was ill at the time and we left San Giovanni disappointed and with heavy hearts. But on June 7, 2006, I was able to go there once again on pilgrimage. I was able to view his relics and see his home and church. I saw the brand new modern looking basilica that has been erected in his honor. But it is to the older church of Our Lady of Grace that I was drawn. There I felt the presence of Padre Pio very strongly. In the old church I knelt beside Padre Pio's confessional and prayed to him and made a general confession. I tried to recall the many, many sins of my life and I humbly asked his intercession for God's pardon. Then, in my heart, I felt Padre Pio talking to me. I felt that he was asking me to say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be, for the souls in Purgatory, everyday for the rest of my life. Afterwards, I went to the bookstore inside the church. There I saw a book with Padre Pio's picture on the cover titled, "The Holy Souls." I purchased the book and learned that Padre Pio offered his Masses, prayers and sufferings for the release of the Holy Souls who are in Purgatory. I had no knowledge of this before I read the book. I feel that my prayer was heard by Padre Pio and that he truly spoke to me in my heart. Padre Pio truly lives. Viva Padre Pio!
- Carmelino P. Alvendia Jr.

Depression Lifted   Over the past twenty five years, I have suffered on and off from severe endogenous depression. However, last year I experienced the worst bout I had ever had. It began in December 1991 and lasted continuously until October 1992. During all of this time every possible medication and treatment were tried but nothing seemed to work. I felt miserable. I could not eat or sleep or do any housework. I lost a lot of weight and there were days when I did not even feel able to wash or change my clothes. Most of the time I felt unable to go to Mass, but used to watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio. I prayed constantly to Padre Pio. In October my husband and I went on a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo. It was a wonderful experience to pray at his tomb. On our last day there I awoke to the beautiful smell of incense. I felt really good and the depression had lifted for the first time in almost a year. Since then the depression has not returned. It is all thanks to Padre Pio.
- Name Withheld

Healed from Sadness  My dear husband died suddenly. He was 45 years old. My children had both moved away so I was left in a big house on my own. Most nights, I would go to bed and cry, even scream hysterically while pleading with Jesus and his mother to help me. I had two nervous breakdowns. I was invited to a showing of a Padre Pio film and I was moved deeply. I was blessed with Padre Pio's mitten. One night, as I was dreading the thought of going to bed, I felt the presence of Padre Pio all around me. From that time onward, I have never really had a bad night.
- Name Withheld

Safety in Time of War   My brother was serving in the army and had been sent to Viet Nam. Every night our family prayed for his safe return. I carried Padre Pio's photo with me and prayed to him often for my brother. I felt Padre Pio's presence with me and shortly after that, my brother wrote to say he would be coming home. When he did come home, he was a different person. After that terrible war he became more quiet and serious. We never asked questions about his experiences and he never spoke much about it. He did mention one experience which seemed very peculiar to him. He said that one day his company was sent ahead of the others to check for the Vietcong. They were looking through the bush with their guns, when suddenly all of the soldiers smelled the fragrance of roses. They kept saying "Where are the rose bushes? It sure smells good out here." They never did find the rosebushes and were sent back to camp. Another company was sent out to inspect the same territory. How tragic to say that the company was ambushed and not one survived the attack. According to the calculations, the Vietcong had been there lurking in the bush all along, when my brother and the others in his company were in that area. But for some strange reason, they were not attacked and they very easily could have been. I know it was Padre Pio who saved my brother's life.
- I. Ahmadzai

Confidence Regained      I had not been out of my house for 25 years and I had not seen my dear brother in all those years. He found my address from my sister and she told him about my problem. I had never heard of Padre Pio but I had a dream about him. In my dream he smiled at me. Also one day, I noticed the beautiful fragrance of flowers in my living room although there were none in the house. Finally, I got the courage to go to church one day. I bought a magazine there and found out about Padre Pio. My dear brother came to see me after 25 years and he told me that he had been praying to Padre Pio for me to regain my confidence.
- Name Withheld

My Uncle's Whole Life Changed   In the 1920's and 30's, my father and some of my uncles who lived in Texas got involved in trafficking illegal liquor from Mexico to the U.S. side of the border. They would then sell the illegal liquor in the U.S. My uncle, Eleno Rojas, got caught and was sentenced to 3 to 4 years in jail and served his time in El Paso, Texas. Being in that jail was a frightening experience. Terrible crimes were committed there, not only by the inmates but also by the jailers. My uncle feared for his life and wondered whether he would survive in that terrible jail. Uncle Eleno had learned about Padre Pio through his parents. At the time, Padre Pio was a young priest. My uncle prayed all the time that God would protect him. One night as he was praying, his cell became filled with a beautiful fragrance of roses. He felt a great sense of peace. He saw Padre Pio standing in front of him. Padre Pio communicated to Uncle Eleno that everything would be all right. Shortly after that experience, my uncle was released from jail. He never failed to thank Padre Pio for coming to his aide and for the rest of his life he would talk about Padre Pio to anyone who would listen. He often spoke of, "the miracle that happened in his cell."  Uncle Eleno's whole life changed after that experience with Padre Pio and it changed the lives of the rest of the family as well. We all became very devoted to Padre Pio.

All of my uncles left their former lifestyle behind them and they all became successful merchants. My uncle Eleno passed away in 2006. He was 100 years old. Isn't it strange that I work at Central Jail in Los Angeles and I see what many inmates go through. I see their fear and loneliness. I used to see them wearing their rosaries until a rule was made that no longer allowed it.  I would tell the prisoners, "Don't just wear it around your neck, pray the Rosary as well."  I see that for many who are incarcerated, the only thing that can sustain them is their faith.
- Hortencia Perez   

Entrust Everything to the Child Jesus     During Advent of 1952, I approached Padre Pio for confession, during which I strongly recommended my neighbor to him and asked him to pray for her. Padre Pio then gave me a beautiful little picture of the Infant Jesus of Prague, telling me that Christmas time was particularly suitable for asking for graces. Then, blessing the picture, he advised me to entrust everything to the Child Jesus.
- M. Katharina Tangari

A New Person   A close friend of mine has made a complete transformation through the intercession of Padre Pio. She told me that in spite of friends and money, no one had ever made her truly happy. She tried to heal the emptiness of her life by the heavy use of drugs and alcohol. Failed relationships and all the trappings of a fast life brought her nothing but loneliness. She made attempts to take her own life. Once when she was very high on drugs, she jumped out of a window and broke her leg very badly. One day as I was driving her to the doctor's office, she noticed for the first time, the rosary of Padre Pio hanging on my car mirror. She asked about it and held it, saying it was pretty, so I told her about Padre Pio. With great interest she held the rosary so I told her to keep it and to pray. The acceptance of the rosary was the beginning of her healing. She quit alcohol and drugs and became a daily communicant and a catechism teacher every Sunday at her parish. For someone who had not gone to church for twenty five years, this was a big leap for the love of God. We look at her now and feel as though we are looking at a new person.
- Name Withheld

Healed from Drug Addiction   My boyfriend Joe became addicted to methamphetamine. After endless attempts to get help for him, I told him that the relationship was over unless he agreed to get into a rehabilitation facility. He entered a rehabilitation program on Thursday, February 9, 2006. The next day he decided that he didn't need help and left the facility. I felt that the next time that I would see him would probably be at his funeral. After crying most of the night, the next morning I looked at my mail and saw an envelope from the Capuchin Franciscan Friars. I usually toss them in the trash, but instead I opened it and inside was a prayer card and a picture of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. The words of St. Pio said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key that opens the heart of God." I had never seen a picture of St. Pio before. I knew that I needed to pray for his intercession. I called Joe and told him that I was very disappointed that he gave up so easily and left the rehab facility but that I was going to help him in a way that I hadn't tried before. I hung up the phone and I prayed. Later that evening Joe called me. He told me that he had not given the rehab facility a chance and that he had called the counselor at the facility (on Saturday) and asked if he could reenter the program. He was told that he would have to wait for a vacant room.

On Monday, Joe called me to say that he spoke to the program director who said that he had never had a patient leave and then call and beg for another chance. The director said that they would have an empty bed on Wednesday and that if Joe wanted it, he needed to be there by 9:30 a.m. or it would be given to someone else. I was skeptical because Joe was not a morning person and was never on time for anything. Joe was able to reenter the facility on Wednesday. He called me on Sunday. Joe, the man that I had never seen cry, sobbed uncontrollably. He said that he had gone to Mass that day. He told me he was so sorry that he always gave me such a hard time when I would beg him to go to church with me. He said that he realized now that his addiction was something that he couldn't fix by himself and he now knew how critical it was that he get help. Joe finished the program and was discharged. He has faithfully followed up with outpatient care and attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings weekly. He has not missed Sunday Mass or Holy Day Mass since. I pray daily to St. Pio to continue to heal Joe and to keep him strong in his recovery. Recently, we took a weekend trip to the beach with my family. While sitting in the back of the church at Sunday Mass, Joe leaned over and whispered, "St. Pio is watching us." I looked up to find an enormous picture of St. Pio on the wall directly beside us. Thank you St. Pio for giving Joe his life back.
- Karen Merritt

My Life was Only an Existence     I was a broken man, a wreck, and my life was only an existence. My brother Christopher, sent me the prayer card of Padre Pio asking me to entrust all my troubles to him and that relief would come soon. I started to recite the prayer daily. Words cannot express my relief.
- Name Withheld

I Could Feel the Presence of Padre Pio With Me      I learned about Padre Pio through a newsletter called "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry" which I found in the church vestibule at Good Shepherd parish in San Diego. I attend the Mother of Perpetual Help Novena at my parish and one Tuesday night at the Novena, when I looked at the picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, I seemed to see Padre Pio looking at me. In February 2006, I had a hemmorhagic stoke after having a heated argument with my sister. I was lying unconscious on the floor when paramedics came and rushed me to the hospital. The right side of my brain was bleeding and the left side of my body was paralyzed. It was uncertain whether I would live through the night. I remained in a coma for three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. The neuro surgeons  told my family to look for a nursing home for me because even if I came out of the coma I would be nothing but a vegetable. I did come out of the coma and I was able to walk and to speak with no difficulty. During my hospitalization I could always feel the presence of Padre Pio and Mother Mary with me.
- Danilo Ganzon

Saved From A Serious Accident I credit Padre Pio with bringing me back to the faith, after having learned of him in the mid 1970's. He made it possible for me to believe what before I could not believe. I thought that the Bible and all of the stories of Catholic saints were just fairy tales. But after looking at Padre Pio's life, I could no longer hold that view.

Recently I was mowing my lawn. I was walking backwards, finishing the last strip. What I didn't realize was that I was about to walk backwards into a large support beam on my children’s swing set while pulling the running lawn mower. In the instant before I would have walked backwards into the swing set, Padre Pio popped into my head and said, "I'm right behind you." This caused me to pause. With my very next step I felt my heel come against the post that I was about to collide with. I have no doubt that I would have fallen, pulling the lawnmower over my feet and lower legs. I wasn't thinking about or praying to Padre Pio at the time that he popped into my head. This leads me to believe that I received special protection. I praise God for giving us Padre Pio. He has helped those like me who could not believe, to believe! And I praise God and I thank Padre Pio for saving me from this accident. In Jesus and Mary,
- Joe Fusco

I Felt as if a Great Burden Had Been Lifted   I recently went to the Catholic women's prayer breakfast, the Magnificat. The talk that was given was on Padre Pio. After the talk, some of the relics of Padre Pio were there for veneration. I touched my Rosary to the relics and as I did so I felt a kind of jolt in my body. I felt very light as if a great burden had been lifted off of me. At the same time I thought of my mother. My mother was very much into the occult. She was always trying to get me involved in it too but I refused. Even so, I have always felt this hanging over me. All of my life I've looked for ways to be rid of this feeling but to no avail. When I touched the relic of Padre Pio, I felt at last that I was released from the darkness that I often felt around me. I feel totally renewed. My friend who was with me said, "Look how your Rosary is shining." I looked at it then and the crystals were indeed shining. The silver too looked different. It looked brand new. The Rosary had been given to me by my mother more than fifty years ago. Thank you, God.
- Elva Eastman

My Father was Close to Death    My father, Michael DeMaria, is greatly devoted to Padre Pio. His own father, my grandfather, had gone to confession to Padre Pio in the late 1940's. When he went into the confessional, Padre Pio greeted him by his first name, John. My grandfather asked him how he knew his name and he told him simply that he knew many things. Padre Pio also told my grandfather that he would have a very good life in America and his words proved to be true. Things went very well for my grandfather when he moved to America.

My father had a very serious fall which caused bleeding in his brain. He was close to death. He was taken to the hospital in Akron, Ohio, and had brain surgery. My mother was told by the doctors to get all of his affairs in order because he was not expected to live. When I visited him in the intensive care unit of the hospital, his kidneys were failing and besides the brain surgery, he had many other serious health problems and complications too numerous to mention. I printed out some testimonials about people who were gravely ill who had been healed through the intercession of Padre Pio. I taped them to the wall in the hospital beside my father's bed. That was when my father told me that Padre Pio had come to him and stood beside his bed and prayed for him. Padre Pio assured him that he would be all right. He said that Padre Pio spoke to him in English. My father even described the brown robe that he was wearing. My father was in intensive care for many weeks and in the hospital for a total of six months. That was three years ago. In 2006, my father celebrated his 81st birthday. Our family knows, without the intercession of Padre Pio, my dad would not be here. When we visited the Padre Pio shrine in Pennsylvania, my father had an opportunity to hold Padre Pio's glove. As he looked around at the grounds of the shrine, my father softly said, "This must be what Heaven is like."
- Denise DeMaria Bowman

A Priest Remembers Padre Pio   I am a Catholic priest and years ago I accompanied a sick man to San Giovanni Rotondo, who hoped to be cured by Padre Pio. I was happy to have this opportunity to see Padre Pio. The sick man whom I accompanied was not cured and I smelled no perfumes. Moreover, when I went to confession, Padre Pio did not life any mysterious veil from my soul. For me, he was only a good confessor, like many others. Yet I did see something. For many days, I heard Padre Pio say Mass and for me that was everything. I heard Mass from the side of the altar and I did not miss a single gesture or expression. I had already said thousands of Masses, but in those moments I felt that I was a poor priest, the same way I felt during confession. Padre Pio really spoke to God in every moment of the Mass. I could even say that he struggled with God, like Abraham. And God was present. Thus at San Giovanni Rotondo I found a priest who loved God truly and intensely, in suffering and prayer, even to agony; a real saint.

My Son Came to See Me from Heaven      My son Frankie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in July of 2005. He fought a long and hard battle against this illness for twenty seven months. He had four lung surgeries, amputation of his leg, radiation, and countless rounds of chemotherapy. He also developed a secondary cancer, leukemia. During his ordeal, Frankie, kept hopeful and prayerful. He kept Jesus as the center of his life, and prayed to his patron saint, Padre Pio, whose picture he always kept with him. Frankie died on Sept. 14, 2007. He was 17 years old.

The morning of Frankie's Mass of Christian Burial, my family and I were at the funeral home where there had been a public viewing of Frankie for two days. When it was almost time to say goodbye to my son and go to St. Ephrem’s in Brooklyn for the funeral Mass, I felt my strength failing me. I dreaded this final time, knowing I would never see my son again. At that moment I prayed to Padre Pio, begging him to help me. The moment I finished my prayer, into the funeral home walked Ray Ewen. Ray had met Padre Pio in 1945 when he served in the U.S. military and was sent overseas to Italy. Ray has been a great promoter of Padre Pio ever since. Ray prayed for my son and he prayed for me. As he prayed, I felt a great sense of peace come over me and I received the strength I needed so badly. I know that Ray’s presence was an answer to my prayer. Ray does not live close by but he told me that when he woke up that morning he felt a very strong urge to get to the funeral home and see Frankie. It was not easy for him but he managed to find a ride with a close friend who was also very devoted to Padre Pio.

The celebrant of Frankie's funeral Mass was Father Gerard Sauer. He was joined by four others priests and over 1000 people attended. Two beautiful eulogies were said, one by Frankie's best friend, Gennaro Anzalone and the other by Dr. Joseph Marino, the Principal of Frankie’s school, Xaverian High School in Brooklyn. Dr. Marino told all present about Frankie’s faith in God and his devotion to Padre Pio.

It wasn’t long afterward that I had a vivid dream about my son. In my dream, Frankie looked well and he was breathing easily. I thought that he was alive again. He let me know that he was in Heaven and only back to speak to me for a moment. He told me that he was in a place that was so beautiful that it was impossible to describe. He also told me he was with other children. I asked him if Padre Pio was there. Frankie looked at me and said, "Padre Pio was there to meet me when I arrived."
- Camille Loccisano 

Testimony of an Eyewitness  I went to the friary to hear Padre Pio's Mass in 1919. I asked one of the seminarian students to show me Padre Pio's cell. The boy kindly lead me to it. Standing in front of his cell, I was struck by a breeze that had a delicious and continuous perfume which gave me such spiritual joy that I did not want to leave. I called other people and they all experienced the same phenomenon. To be more certain, I repeated the experiment with the doors of other cells but I smelled no perfume.

At confession as well as during Padre Pio's Mass, one had the impression of being in the presence of someone who is not of this world. A great force of sanctity emanated from his whole person and it carried away those present, filling them with holy thoughts and devout contemplation.
- Gennaro Cascavilla

Conversion and Healing   In search of God, I, a fallen away Catholic, began to look for Him through the Eastern religious practices. Instead of inner peace and greater awareness, I developed attacks of acute anxiety and dizziness. For two months I went to doctors to find some relief from my illness but they could not help me. Though seemingly lost, I was being led on the path directly to the personal and almighty God whom I sought. Padre Pio marked the path to God's miraculous healing power.

I first heard about Padre Pio from my wife and this knowledge became my lifeline back to the Catholic church. After hearing about Padre Pio I made plans to go to the friary where he had lived. Right before the trip, the dizziness and anxiety became so bad I had to leave work. In desperation I cried out to Padre Pio to help me. I became even more ill and my doctor prescribed shock therapy. My wife entreated me not to go through with the treatments and so we went to Italy and visited the tomb and cell of Padre Pio. The tranquil surroundings gave me a feeling of great peace.

After we returned home, my sister-in-law had a dream of Padre Pio. In her dream, he was hearing her confession. She said to him: "Padre, why don't you give Tony back his health?" Padre Pio looked at her and said with a smile, "Tell Tony that he will be fine." In his hands was a blue pillow with a rosary on it. He told her to give it to me.

The assurance of this dream gave me strength and now, one year later, I am a healthy and happy man. I am dedicated to spreading the message of Padre Pio, the Rosary and the Catholic Church that brought me the peace of Christ.
- T. Cavaliere

Padre Pio Hears Our Prayers    A poor widow woman from Bologna, with five children had visited Padre Pio. She asked him to accept her as one of his spiritual children. She also asked him to keep all of her children in his prayers. He heard her confession and after the meeting, she prayed to Padre Pio every day. In her prayers, she asked him to watch over her children, protect and bless them. Five years later she visited Padre Pio again and during confession she asked him to watch over her children. He said to her, "How many times do you intend to ask me that question?" She told him she did not understand. He replied, "You have asked that of me every day for the last five years!"

Healing Dream   In July of 1992, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. I went through 6 months of chemotherapy. One night my son asked me if I had ever heard of Padre Pio and he told me a little bit about him from a program he had seen on television. My son is not very religious but was quite taken with this man at the time. Sometime shortly after this I had a dream. In my dream I was out walking alone and saw a group of people. I made my way toward them. As I approached, the others seemed to vanish and the back of this man, whom I thought was Jesus, drew me closer. As I went to speak, the man turned around. At first I saw his gentle face and then his eyes. Rays shot from his eyes and went through me. I woke up. My friend gave me a prayer card of Padre Pio. Imagine my surprise when I looked and saw that it was the man in my dream. I told my friend of my dream and she saw it as a sign of healing from my cancer. I've thought of that ever since. I just finished my first year of tests and the cancer shows no signs of recurrence.
- P. Yanics

Peace of Mind   While serving a short prison sentence, a friend sent me a novena to Padre Pio. I discovered from that day on that I was given great peace of mind, and I believe that Padre Pio has helped me in many ways and still does to this day.
- Name Withheld

I Had No More Pain   I had to have a very serious operation in which one of my kidneys was removed. As a result, I nearly died. After spending many weeks in the hospital, my doctor finally let me come home. My grandfather, who has already passed away, was deeply devoted to Padre Pio. I felt that I had come through the surgery by prayer and by faith. However, I was unable to walk, feed myself or do anything for myself. My mother was taking care of me and I was dependent on her for everything.

The pain and discomfort that I felt was almost unbearable and because of it, I had to take diamorphine several times a day. One day a neighbor came to the door. She asked my mother if she could see me. When she came in my bedroom I was surprised because I did not know her very well. I did know that she had a strong faith. She took a small box out of her bag and in it was a glove. She told me that it was Padre Pio's glove. She pressed the glove against my side on the area where I had the operation. I do not know the circumstances of how my neighbor came into possession of Padre Pio's glove. All I know is that from the moment she touched me with it, I had no more pain. I could walk and sit up. I was still weak but from that day forward I began to feel stronger. This experience has changed my life.
- Caroline Millar

A Blessed Rosary   I met Padre Pio during World War II, when I was stationed in Cerignola, not far from San Giovanni Rotondo. I was able to attend Padre Pio's Mass and even visit with him in the garden of the monastery, where he would sometimes have his lunch. Meeting Padre Pio was a blessing that has remained with me my entire life. When I returned home to New York after the war was over, I used every opportunity to tell others about Padre Pio. I have been a parishioner at the Sacred Heart parish in Queens for more than sixty years. A number of years ago, our pastor's sister, who was a Dominican nun, asked me if she could borrow the Rosary that I have, which was blessed by Padre Pio. I agreed and she took it to where she worked at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, New York. Later, when she returned it, she told me that one of the patients in the hospital heard about the Rosary and asked her if he could pray with it. He was healed for when he went into surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed, it had disappeared.
- Ray Ewen

My Brother Met Padre Pio During World War II My brother Bill was drafted into the U.S. Air Force and served as a tail gunner during World War II. He flew 50 missions over Germany. During that time he was stationed in Foggia, Italy where the Americans had an air base. On one occasion, Bill traveled to San Giovanni Rotondo with one of his Air Force buddies in order to attend Padre Pio's Mass. During the Mass, Bill witnessed the stigmata, the wounds Padre Pio suffered. On another occasion, the pilot that Bill crewed with, asked him to accompany him on a visit to see Padre Pio. They hitchiked part of the way and then walked the rest of the way up the hill to the monastery.

Bill felt very fortunate to be able to have a private audience with Pare Pio. An interpreter was there to help them with the language barrier. Bill introduced the pilot to Padre Pio. "You have been here before," Padre Pio said to him. "No, this is my first time coming here," the pilot replied. Padre Pio then said that on a certain date, shortly after midnight, he had flown his plane directly over the monastery. The pilot had no distinct recollection of that particular date and gave Bill a puzzled look. However, Padre Pio had made quite an impression on him. When they got back to the base, the pilot immediately went to his log book and looked up the date that Padre Pio had spoken of. Indeed, he realized to his amazement, that he would have been flying over the monastery at the very time that Padre Pio had mentioned.

On Christmas Eve of 1945, my family was gathered at my parent's house in West Lynn, Massachusetts. My mother looked out the window and there was Bill walking up the street toward our house. We had no idea that he was coming home and we were overjoyed at his safe return. On that very night, he told us the story of meeting Padre Pio, a story I have never forgotten.
- Marguerite Manning Shea

On Heroin  I was down and out and homeless. I was a heroin addict. I wanted to kick the habit on my own, but I couldn't do it. I had no money nor medical insurance. The city hospital had a long waiting list and no other help for me was available. My aunt and her friends started praying to Padre Pio for me. At first I didn't believe, but then everything started going o.k. for me. I was admitted into a hospital for detoxification and then I was sent to an excellent rehabilitation program for drug addicts. I am now working and off drugs and trying to rebuild my life. Thanks be to God and Padre Pio's powerful intercession.
- Name Withheld

Harassment   I had a terrible problem with a young man harassing me and calling me names. Eventually it got so bad that even his family started to threaten me and my husband. I prayed to Padre Pio to help me. I am happy to say I have all faith in his intercession. The man phoned to apologize after I had prayed to Padre Pio just once.
- Name Withheld

A Blessing  I am of Cajun descent and I speak both English and some Cajun, although broken Cajun. My daddy died on December 8, 1990. However, on December 7th, at St. Mary's Hospital in Port Arthur, Texas, while staying near daddy's bedside, my husband and I witnessed daddy seeing someone come in to his room. My daddy's eyes followed them to his bedside and he extended his hand and was very serious and very humbled by whoever it was that he saw and he commenced to speak to them. We knew that there was someone very holy and very powerful there and that also there was more than one person near him. The language my daddy was speaking is one I had not heard until this morning when my husband and I were listening to a recording of Padre Pio's voice. I recognized it as the language my daddy was speaking. It was either that language or something very close to it. We just knew that there were some very holy people escorting him into eternal life. I have never seen my daddy become so humbled as he was that day. He died the next morning. I knew we were in the company of holiness, of saintliness and we were not hung out to dry. They were powerful and they knew God. I have known about Padre Pio for many years and I am wondering if it might have been Padre Pio who was there at my daddy's bedside. What is hard for me is to see that I am worthy of Padre Pio coming to my aide and to my families' aide. Thank you, Amen.
- Mary Ellen Breaux Weisse

A Life Extended   In November, 1921, I wrote to Padre Pio asking him to pray for my dying grandmother who was over eighty years old. I felt very close to her because she had been praying that I would be a priest. I asked him to pray so that my grandmother would live to see me ordained. A few days later I went to her bedside and found her in a coma. I thought she would die during the night, but by morning she had made an extraordinary recovery. She told me that she had dreamed that a monk had brought her ten more years of life. My grandmother lived for exactly ten more years.
- Father Michelangelo Bellini

Healing from a Lifelong Illness  During my childhood I was afflicted with an illness from the age of 8 years old. I could not attend school very much but I was able to take piano lessons. Every week I had a private lesson in my home. Doctors told me I would have the illness all my life. I met Padre Eusebio (Padre Pio's secretary) when he visited Ireland and he told me about Padre Pio. He said he would talk to Padre Pio about me when he returned to San Giovanni. I began to correspond with Padre Pio. He told me to have pupils and teach them piano. I made a trip to San Giovanni and I met Padre Pio in 1966. He told me I would have to suffer for 3 years and then I would be cured. I am now completely cured and have my own school where I teach piano in my home and have 40 pupils. I am getting on well thanks to Padre Pio.
- Mary Kennedy

I Thank Padre Pio from the Bottom of my Heart  I would like to give thanks to Padre Pio who has interceded for me throughout my life. I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in Yorkshire in the north of England in 1983. At that time, I lived in a rented room above a bookshop and was far away from home, as I am from Scotland.The bookshop had alot of marxist, anarchist, feminist, and communistic books. I had access to all the reading material and I had read alot of Marx and Freud. I looked to science and reason rather than faith to explain human existence. I considered myself an atheist and a marxist.

The bookshop also had a variety of other kinds of secular reading material and had a contract to supply the city library with books. One night while browsing through the stacks, I came across John McCaffrey's, 'Tales of Padre Pio.' I read the book at one sitting and was deeply impressed. The next morning I received a letter from my mother containing a Padre Pio prayer card and relic. It was at a time in my life when I was scared and uncertain of the future. I decided to make the prayer novena to Padre Pio to ask for guidance in my life. As a result, I won a scholarship to study for a post-graduate degree in Glasgow, Scotland. Padre Pio has been my protector and benefactor ever since and has never failed me even in my darkest times. I love and thank him from the bottom of my heart for helping me to reaffirm the beauty and peace of my Catholic faith. Viva Padre Pio!
- Kenny Keegan

Testimony of Padre Agostino Padre Agostino, Padre Pio's Spiritual Director, left this recollection:  Padre Pio suffered and prayed for all and in a special way for the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Very often the Lord sends spiritual and bodily sufferings for the salvation and the good of souls. Padre Pio once told me that he had suffered for a particular individual for almost two months. He said to me, "I don't know the reason for this, but I suffer."

When I was getting ready to leave for Genoa for the hospital, I stopped to see Padre Pio and he was in bed. He told me, "My Father, go in peace, because you have someone who is praying and suffering for you." I answered, "Let's divide the suffering." He replied, "Don't give it another thought." All went well with me at the hospital and all thanks are due to Padre Pio who suffered and prayed.

A Marriage Renewed  My husband was treating me terribly. I could not take this mistreatment any longer. I begged Padre Pio to help me. I had no where to go for help but Heaven. One evening I was already in bed and the room was very quiet when my husband went to his side of the bed. He was lying down about five minutes when he suddenly jerked his head up and in a shocked voice said to me, "Someone has just whispered in my ear, ‘Love your wife.’" My husband changed after that experience and became much nicer to me. We have three children now and attend Mass together as a family every Sunday.                          
- Name Withheld   

Sent a Telegram to Padre Pio  I had just come out of the hospital with a severe nervous disorder, near a nervous breakdown. I had been working at a bank near my home where I was a credit collection correspondent for delinquent mortgages. This work where I had to collect money on delinquent mortgages from poor, desperate and sick people finally undermined my health until I was admitted to the hospital for six weeks. When I returned from the hospital, my recovery didn’t seem to be forthcoming. In desperation one day a sent a telegram to Padre Pio and asked for his intercession. That night my sister and I were in her apartment. My sister knowing nothing about the telegram exclaimed, "What is that  gorgeous fragrance? Do you smell it?" At first, I couldn’t understand the significance. Then it dawned on me where this heavenly fragrance came from. That much I did know, that when Padre Pio was interceding for you, he would let you know by a fragrance. My healing did not come at once but from then on the whole course of my life started to change for the better. By January of the following year there was a complete break from the past. I can look back to that period as a turning point in my whole life.
- Name Withheld
                 
He was Always Praying  The following testimony is from Padre Federico who was one of Padre Pio’s seminary students. Padre Pio also acted as his spiritual director. Padre Pio was always praying, night and day. His main teaching place for us was the choir, where he spent long hours of the day on his knees as a faithful worshiper of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In our midst he prayed and responded, always holding his rosary in his right hand. In the refectory, after having hurriedly and listlessly swallowed a few mouthfuls, he continued to pray. He used to say "I wish the day had forty eight hours in which to pray." In fact, he never left the choir until midnight. When he went to bed we felt him to be always keeping watch. His whole day was a continuous dialogue with God.
- Padre Federico of Macchia Valforte

Padre Pio Rescued Me in Vienna I have had a difficult marriage due to my husband's struggle with mental illness. In 2008, in the middle of a personal crisis, my husband left home. I felt into a deep depression and was unable to find a way to get out of the gloom and sadness that had engulfed my life. I had to make a business trip to Vienna which I could in no way postpone. I did not want to make the trip and was in no shape to be alone in a foreign city. I found strength in prayer and the Eucharist.

When my Rosary broke, I went to a shop to buy a new one. A gentleman in the shop gave me a prayer card, with a third class relic of a saint that I had never heard of, St. Pio. The prayer card had the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the prayer for the intercession of St. Pio. I prayed the Novena and the prayer for St. Pio's intercession every day, and I slowly started feeling better. I went to my mother's house for the holidays. One night, my mother and I were watching T.V. As she was changing the channels, I told her to stop on one particular channel. "That man looks like the saint on the prayer card I was given in Vienna," I said to my mother. I went to get the prayer card to look at it closer. The television program was a movie about the life of Padre Pio. The next day, I went to a Catholic bookstore and bought a book on Padre Pio. I found out that his feast day is September 23, the day of my wedding anniversary.

My husband came back home and is now taking care of his illness. Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. I am very thankful to St. Pio because I know he made it possible for me to accept what I have to live with and for my husband to return home and take care of his illness. I tell people that St. Pio rescued me. He found me in Vienna, there is no doubt about it. He reached out through that gentleman who gave me the prayer card. He touched my life and my heart and brought me closer to Jesus. We know the road is not easy, but I have confidence that I have Padre Pio's help to walk as Jesus would want me to walk. Every night I pray to St. Pio for all the people I know who are sick, including my husband.
- Name Withheld

Conversion   I went to the hospital to give Holy Communion to one of the patients there. As I was about to leave, the Sister who worked at the hospital said to me, "The man in the end bed is a Catholic. Please go and see him." When I saw the man I said to him, "I believe that you are a Catholic" and he replied, "I used to be a Catholic many years ago, but I have not been to church since I don't know when." We spoke awhile and before I left I gave him a relic card of Padre Pio and asked him to read it when he felt like it. He took the leaflet from me and just placed it on his bedside with little interest in it. Some days later I went to the hospital again to make my rounds. The man who I had taken Holy Communion to said to me, “The man in the end bed wants to see you. He has been asking when you were coming in." I went to the man and he invited me to take a seat. He said, "I have made every provision for my business and my family, but as I read the little history about your friend Padre Pio, I began to realize that I forgot about my own situation. Is it possible that I could make my confession to an understanding priest? I do not want to be interrogated." I told him that I knew a very gentle priest. The priest came right away. In the meantime the man's wife, son and daughter came to visit him and when they saw the curtain pulled round the bed they thought the worst until they saw the priest pulling the curtain back. His wife said to us that she had never seen her husband looking so relaxed and happy since he came to the hospital. The man showed the relic card of Padre Pio to his family and he said to me, "Please give my wife one of the lovely leaflets of Padre Pio." Three days later he died a very peaceful and happy death. May he rest in peace.
- Peter Barrett

Pray to St. Michael the Archangel   In the early 1950's, my brother, Francis Briguori, made a trip from Naples to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio. He was able to make his confession to him. While making his confession, he told Padre Pio that he wanted to join the Navy but did not think he would be accepted because he had a heart defect.  Padre Pio looked at him with a very piercing gaze and said, "Tu Vai, Kapish!"which means, "You go, do you understand!" At the end of the confession Padre Pio told my brother to pray to St. Michael the Archangel. He said to my brother, "Michael is your name, too." My brother's name is Francis Mario Michael Briguori. He was so completely taken aback that Padre Pio knew his name that when he left the confessional, he told all the people waiting in the sacristy, "I can't believe it, he knew my name!"

Right after that, my brother enlisted in the Navy. On the day that he went in for his medical examination,  there were many other young men there who were also having their medical exams. When my brother's name was called, he was told, "Tu Vai" the very same words that Padre Pio had said to him. Evidently he looked so healthy that he was waved on ahead of the others and was accepted without a physical exam. My brother had a wonderful career in the Navy working in the field of shortwave communication. He traveled to many different parts of the world and was never sick nor troubled by any problems with his heart. My brother turned 82 years old this year, 2007. He told me that as long as he lives, he will never be able to forget the way Padre Pio looked at him with those beautiful, piercing eyes.
- Enrichetta Spinelli

Someone in Heaven was Praying for Me     I was raised in the Pentecostal church as my father and my relatives on his side were all Pentecostals. My mother was a Catholic. However, she never taught me anything about her faith and then she passed away due to kidney disease.  When I was 36 years old my health started declining. A friend gave me a book about Padre Pio and one day when I was at the hospital, while waiting to see the doctor, I started reading the book. I wanted to learn more about my mother's Catholic faith. That day, the doctor told me that I had kidney failure. In 2003, I started on kidney dialysis. I had other serious health problems as well. I had an enlarged heart and on one occasion I went into cardiac arrest. I collapsed and was in a place of total darkness. I felt myself pushing frantically against a black wall. I could hear my two daughters in the next room. All I could think of was to ask God not to let me die.  I am a single parent and I wanted to live to see my girls grow up. I survived the experience but it was very frightening. My doctor told me I was very lucky to be alive.

My neighbor invited me and my daughters to go to church with her and I began studying the Catholic faith with the parish priest, Father Francis. However, I was getting sicker and sicker each day. I had been on the kidney transplant list for one year. In 2007, I started a novena to Padre Pio, for healing. I would pray the novena while on dialysis. I became friends with a lady named Patsy who was on the dialysis machine next to mine. We talked together about Padre Pio and she too was praying to him. On the ninth day of the novena, while I was on the dialysis machine, I raised a cross I was holding and kissed it and before I could even begin the novena prayer to Padre Pio, I heard one of the nurses shouting for joy and saying to me, "We have a kidney for you!" Patsy was so happy for me that she began to cry. Three days earlier I had told Patsy that I was so tired and in so much pain that I was ready to die.

I had the kidney transplant and am doing so much better. Father Francis told me that there was someone in Heaven who was praying for me. I immediately knew that it was Padre Pio and my mother. My daughters and I were  baptized into the Catholic church in December.  We chose Pia as our confirmation names.
- Maria Giuseppa Pia Camilla

He was Indefinable  I made the trip to San Giovanni Rotondo, very curious to see for myself this extraordinary friar who I had seen so many times in newspapers and magazines. When Padre Pio entered the sacristy, I was only just able to see him. He was accompanied by two friars to protect him from the crowd. When he came down for Vespers, I was able to observe him well and from close up. I received such an impression that, still to this day, after having got to know him well from many visits, am unable to describe. He was a figure, dare I say, indefinable. He was fatherly, austere, sullen, happy, sarcastic, ironic. His eyes scrutinized you as if they wanted to penetrate your very flesh and they forced you to lower your eyes... The first thing I experienced when I was in Padre Pio's presence was a marvelous perfume which seemed to me to be the fragrance of violets. After my confession to him, I asked for his blessing for myself and all of my family. He placed his hands on my head and said, "This is also for your family. Young man, always be good."
- Alfredo Lapertina 

 Mobile  I thank and praise God for having granted my request through the intercession of Padre Pio. After three years in a wheelchair, walker, cane, etc. and being told by doctors that nothing could be done, I am now mobile. I did not pray for a cure. I prayed that I might be healed enough so that I could attend daily Mass. I thank the Lord for working His marvels through His holy servant, Padre Pio. 
- Mrs. F. Woodley

My Prayer is That You Go to Heaven   I had developed heart trouble and along with palpitations, I could often sleep only in a sitting position....During his Mass on the first morning of my visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, I bombarded Padre Pio continuously in thought, asking him to obtain the favor of a healing for me. Toward midday I saw him in the monastery. Addressing me as though I had actually spoken to him, he said in a calm and gentle voice, "Listen to me. My prayer for you is that you go to Heaven. Let that be enough for you. And naturally, do pray for me with the same intention."... Some time later and on several occasions in the course of normal conversation, Padre Pio placed the palm of his right hand and therefore its wound against my heart. Since then, there has been no more heart trouble. 
- John McCaffrey

Confession   I had prayed and asked Padre Pio to help so that my dad would go to confession. He had not gone since he was first married and that was 48 years ago. When I used to ask him to go to confession, he would get very angry. He went to confession on Good Friday of this year. To me this is a miracle. There is no doubt in my mind. Padre Pio continues his work from above and I thank him. 
- Name Withheld

I Tried to Help You       My husband, Ricardo and I made a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo in 2005 to visit the church and friary where Padre Pio spent so many years of his life. It was a beautiful experience. We stayed at a hotel close by and one of the employees there was named Louie. He helped us in many ways, especially by  giving us information on how to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Michael the Archangel which is near San Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio, in his younger years, had also visited the shrine of St. Michael the Archangel and he often encouraged people to go there.

 Louie told us that his father had lived in the same area where Padre Pio lived and he had met Padre Pio. One night Louie's father had a vivid dream. In his dream, he saw Padre Pio who said to him, "Get up at once and get your animals because they are being stolen at this very moment." The dream was so vivid that Louie's father woke up, but he did not feel well so he decided not get up to check on his animals. The next morning he discovered that they had been stolen. The next time he went to the church, Padre Pio shook his head and simply said, "I tried to help you."
- Dolores Valadez

The Next Morning, I Had a Strong Urge to go to Confession     My mother had a friend who was going to have a relic of Padre Pio brought to her home by a priest. She invited my mother to come to her house on the day that the priest was scheduled to visit. The gathering was to be at 1:00 in the afternoon. My mother invited me to go with her but I was not interested. I had never heard of Padre Pio so I declined the invitation. About five minutes before the set time of the gathering, I suddenly changed my mind and decided to go with my mother.

When we arrived at her friend’s house, there were about six people there. One had cancer and several of the others were sick. The priest passed Padre Pio’s glove to each person. The people held the glove and prayed in silence for their needs.

At that time, I was not a practicing Catholic. I did not know what to pray for when the glove was passed to me. I felt that my life was going along fine and that I had nothing to ask for so I prayed for my children. While holding the glove, I began to cry. I thought that was indeed strange since I did not know anything about Padre Pio.

The next morning when I woke up, I had a strong urge to go to confession. I had not been to confession in twenty years. I made my confession and told the priest about Padre Pio’s relic. I told him that after I held Padre Pio’s relic, something changed inside of me. The priest told me that I was in a state of grace. I have gone to Mass every Sunday since that day, six years ago when I held Padre Pio's glove in my hand. I do pray to St. Pio and I trust in him as an intercessor with our Lord.
- Stephanie Nicolo

Strength in Time of Need     Until recently I was only vaguely aware of Padre Pio. However, I entered the most traumatic period of my life and had very difficult decisions to make and to abide by. Previously, I had similar decisions to make, but always failed miserably and lapsed back into very heartbreaking situations. This time though, I found two magazines of Padre Pio. The articles in these magazines, especially the Padre's writings on suffering, filled me with so much grace, faith in Jesus, and strength, that, thank God and Padre Pio, I have taken the right road and made the right decisions. Each time I face moments of depression, I read Padre Pio's writings, and before long, I fell greatly helped.
- Name Withheld

The Blessed Little Hand   In 2005, I went on a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo. While there, we celebrated Mass next to Padre Pio's tomb. After that, I had a great desire to learn more about Padre Pio. When I returned home, I ordered a statue of Padre Pio from a Catholic organization. The statue arrived with one hand missing. I was so disappointed that I started crying. However, I found the little hand wrapped up and in the box. I did not have any strength in my body at the time and I was in alot of pain. I took the little hand of Padre Pio's in my own and prayed. I have been pain free ever since. I thank God and I thank Padre Pio. I have taken the little hand to the hospital on a number of occasions and have prayed with the patients there. The blessed little hand has helped alot of people, including stroke victims and many others.
- Socorro Zamora

I Prayed for Padre Pio’s Intercession in my Marriage  
I am from the Philippines and I work as a Sports Events Specialist. My job requires a lot of traveling abroad. I was on a work assignment in Jakarta, Indonesia when my husband emailed me to say that he wanted a separation. The pain that his words caused me cannot be described. I went to the Catholic Cathedral in Jakarta and spoke to a priest about my marriage situation. The priest told me that I should remain with my husband. Several days later I went back to the Cathedral for Sunday Mass and spoke to another priest. He gave me the same message as the first priest. I prayed for guidance in reading the Holy Scriptures and when I opened my Bible, there were the words of Jesus on divorce.

I was calling my husband on the phone and sending him text messages but he would not answer them or communicate with me. I prayed to Padre Pio for the healing of my marriage. One night I had a dream. I dreamed that I had come back from my work abroad and there was an old man in my house. The hood of his black coat was pulled up on his head. In my dream, my husband was there in the house too. He was smiling at me and he embraced me with love. All was well. After that dream, I felt stronger emotionally. I felt I was not alone in facing my problems.

I continued to pray to Padre Pio for his intercession. When I finished my job assignment and returned to my home in the Philippines, I was nervous. I did not know what to expect. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful homecomings I ever had. The love that my husband expressed to me was something that I had not felt from him for a long time. I believe that it was Padre Pio in my dream, telling me that he was praying for me.
- Malyn - Philippines

I Was Wounded in Vietnam   On September 23,1968, about 12:00 in the afternoon, I was wounded in Vietnam. I was an Army Field Artillery officer attached to an armored cavalry battalion. As a forward observer, I was responsible for artillery support. We came under enemy fire and I was wounded in the chest  by small arms fire.The impact of the bullet knocked me down and the fire fight continued, while my Radio Telephone Operator bandaged  my chest and gave me a shot of morphine. He laid me in the bottom of a tracked vehicle as the fighting elevated. It took about 15-30 minutes to get a helicopter evacuation in to take me and the other wounded to the city of Chu Lai where there was a hospital. During this entire time I was conscious although I almost lost consciousness several times.

While laying there waiting to be evacuated, my whole brief life of 23 years passed in front of me. I prayed to God to let me live. I was newly married and prayed that He would let me return to my wife. God gave me another chance that day. I don't remember when I was introduced to Padre Pio, but I do know that Padre Pio died on September 23, 1968 and I believe that he died about the same time that God gave me a second chance. I have a special devotion to Padre Pio and daily incorporate his Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his meditation after Holy Communion into my daily prayer life.
- Gerry Murphy

A  True Spiritual Father   Elidé Bellomo was one of Padre Pio's earliest spiritual daughters. She first came to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1946. Padre Pio asked her to stay and help with the many duties of his growing ministry. She helped establish the prayer groups and assisted at his hospital. Elidé was very close to her mother and when her mother died suddenly from a heart attack, Elidé was grief-stricken. She immediately went to Padre Pio. "Padre," she sobbed, "What am I to do now?" Listen to me," Padre Pio said. "I am now your entire family; mother, father, brother, anything you want. Your mother is in Heaven. Let us concentrate on trying to get there ourselves.We must do our best to deserve it." Elidé found great comfort in his words.

A Medical Miracle    My family and extended family are from Italy and some of them knew Padre Pio. My grandfather, Cosmo Orlando, who was a farmer, remembered Padre Pio from the early days. He said that Padre Pio was always the one boy who acted as mediator when disputes rose among friends.

My father was twelve years old when he moved to America. His mother took him to the monastery to say goodbye to Padre Pio. My father remembers vividly taking hold of Padre Pio’s hand when saying goodbye to him.

In 1958, while on deck in a baseball contest, I was struck in the head with the bat from the player who had just struck out at the plate. I was eight years old at the time. I suffered a double skull fracture and underwent an eight-hour operation. My life was in the hands of two wonderful neurosurgeons, Dr. Greenberg and Dr. Fromm. Although, I survived the operation, Dr.Greenberg informed my mother that the prognosis was very dim. I probably would suffer permanent brain damage and thus a normal life was not likely.

My grandfather, who had an undying belief in Padre Pio, possessed one of his gloves. It was placed on my forehead in the hospital. When I was released from the hospital, I continued my recuperation and a month later I was able to return to school. After that, I never looked back, even though a plate was inserted in my head the following year. I remained under Dr. Greenberg’s care until I turned twenty-one years old. He always told my mother and myself that he could not explain my recovery, especially since a part of my brain had to be removed from the left lobe. Dr. Greenberg used to say that someone else or something else assisted me. He concluded that my recovery was a medical miracle. My father retains the glove of Padre Pio to this day.
 - Joseph Orlando

Peace of Mind   I have been praying to Padre Pio for a few years now. Since praying to him I have stopped taking tranquilizers and am free of panic attacks.  But most importantly, I now have a strong faith and I believe my faith will see me through anything. Everything in my life has changed for the better with the help of Padre Pio, our Lord and our Lady. 
- Name Withheld

I Ask for Your Prayers     I ask for your prayers as I am at a place in my life where I am in great need of God's help and direction. Some time ago, I had a very vivid dream whereby I saw a man with a dark robe on and a beard. In my dream, the man said to me, "I was wondering if you would like to become a nun, after your children are raised?"   I told him that I did not think so. But I said that  I did have some things that I wanted to do for God once my children were raised. He said to me, "But what are you planning to do for God right now?"  Shortly after that dream, I went to confession to Father Solcia at Our Lady of the Rosary.  At the end of the confession, Father Solcia handed me a prayer card and said, "Padre Pio is praying for you." On the prayer card was a picture of the same man I had seen in my dream. Below the picture  were the words, "Padre Pio." 
- Name Withheld

The Doctors were Amazed    My mother, Margaret McVeigh, went into a coma and we were told by her doctors that she would not live. We began to pray to Padre Pio and we asked him to give our mother two more years of life. The doctor told us that it would not matter how many prayers we prayed because our mother was going to die. He believed that she would die within two days. Much to the doctors amazement and also to our own, our mother came out of the coma. She lived for two more years, the years that we asked Padre Pio for. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts.
- Elizabeth and Bernadette McVeigh

I Asked Padre Pio to Send My Husband a Sign     I have been blessed by praying Padre Pio's prayers, especially the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I prayed to Padre Pio and asked him to save my marriage for I am currently in the process of a divorce. On June 13, 2008 we went to court regarding the divorce. I prayed to Padre Pio with great devotion for his intercession. Four days later, my husband told me that he no longer hated me and that he wanted to talk to me about our situation. I prayed to Padre Pio to guide my husband and send him a sign regarding what he should do with his life. My husband told me that he had a dream in which he and I and our son were all together. Glory be to God! I know that Padre Pio has heard me and prayed for me to the Lord.
- Name Withheld

Padre Pio was Carrying Me    I have a great devotion to Padre Pio. It began in 2002 when I visited Italy. In the past six years, my family has had many problems. My grand daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. My daughter was also diagnosed with cancer. My stepdaughter had a hole in her heart and was in very serious condition. Also, my son suffered a heart attack. To each one of them I gave either a Padre Pio medal or a Padre Pio statue and told them to pray to Padre Pio and ask for his help. I thank God and Padre Pio that they are all doing well now.

In January 2008, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I am seventy-eight years old and have other serious health problems. I have a pacemaker and defibulator and also a bad heart. I needed surgery but my doctor was not optomistic about my chances of surviving an operation. I gave my doctor a medal of Padre Pio and told him that I had complete confidence that Padre Pio would see me through. I was operated  on at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City and my left lung was removed. I developed an infection after the surgery and spent three months in the hospital. After that I was transferred to Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, New York.

One day, one of the nurses' aides came in my room and told me that she had a dream about me. "I have never had a dream about one of my patients before," she said. I asked her about the dream. She looked at the Padre Pio statue that I had in my room and pointed at it.  "I dreamed that he was carrying you," she said.

I am recovering slowly from the surgery. I continue my devotion to Padre Pio and the Blessed Mother and urge everyone to pray the Rosary daily.
-John Giumarra

Padre Pio Touched Me and the Pain was Gone   In the early fall of 2007,  I saprained my foot. The pain increased throughout the day and by the evening, the pain was so great that I could not walk at all. That night I had to be carried to my bed. I was worried and I was wondering how I would manage since I could not walk. I finally fell asleep. That night I dreamed that I was in a large church and  I was laying on the floor because I was unable to walk.  Padre Pio was led into the church by two men. He knelt down near me to pray. There was a relic of St. Anthony in the church and that was why he had come. Before he left, he put his hand out and touched my foot where the sprain had occurred. Then he touched my hand. After that, many other people began to reach out to him. I woke up immediately from the dream and noticed that my foot was no longer throbbing. In fact, I was able to get up and walk to the other end of the house by myself.  The injury healed quite quickly and there was no permanent damage.
- Krysten Hager

My Friend Brought Padre Pio's Prayers to us at the Hospital     My brother, Mateo Garcia, was hospitalized at the Chong Hua General Hospital in the Philippines on August 20, 2007.  He suffered from bleeding peptic ulcer disease, chronic liver disease, sepsis, osteomyletis, cellulitis and intravascular disease. He also had internal bleeding that the doctors could not alleviate. He was given more than 70 blood transfusions.  I asked the doctor to tell us the real score about my brother's condition so that we could prepare ourselves. The doctor told us that it was just a matter of time. Mateo was going to die. My brother Ricardo and I went to Mateo's bedside in the Intensive Care Unit and we all prayed together. We recited the prayers our parents taught us when we were little - "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul; Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony; Jesus, Mary and Joseph I breathe forth my soul in peace with you." When Mateo fell asleep, Ricardo and I left the hospital, feeling very forlorn. We begged God to give us the strength to accept His will for our brother.

The next day, one of the Chinese doctors gave my brother a herbal medicine.  A good friend stopped by the hospital and brought  us a framed picture of Padre Pio, Padre Pio's Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a prayer leaflet with a tiny relic of Padre Pio on it. Mateo and I kissed the relic and returned it to my friend. Earnestly and from our hearts, Ricardo and I prayed the prayers of Padre Pio with Mateo. The following day, when we came to see Mateo in the ICU, we learned that the bleeding had stopped altogether.  My brother was discharged from the hospital on the 15th of September.  He is now recuperating at home. Thanks be to God and to the intercession of St. Pio!
- Josefina Garcia Serranilla 

Padre Pio Started Laughing   I saw Padre Pio in person when I was growing up. It was in 1951 and I was 10 years old at the time. My mother and I attended his Mass. I was very impressed by him. His tiny church could barely hold a handful of peasants. The Mass was very, very early in the morning and outside it was freezing. The church however was very warm inside. It was a great experience. My mother made her confession to Padre Pio. At one point during the confession, he started laughing and he said to my mother, "If these things you are confessing were sins, then we would all be in paradise." She received absolution from Padre Pio.  
- Vittorio Manunta

 Padre Pio said, "There will be Victory"    I was born near Bagdad, Iraq and baptized in the parish of the Virgin Mary of the Holy Heart. When I was still a baby,  my parents decided to move the family to the United States to escape the dangers of the country and so that my brothers and sisters and I might have a better life. It was a great sacrifice for them to leave their country and all that was dear to them but they knew it was for the best. I learned about Padre Pio in 2006 and started attending the Padre Pio prayer group in San Diego. On occasion, I brought my mother with me and she liked it very much. 2007 was a devastating year for the Chaldean Catholic community in Badgad.  My mother became very distraught over the tragedies that were occurring there. Chaldean Catholic bishops, priests, and deacons were being threatened daily. Extremist terrorist groups warned them that they would be killed if they continued to have Mass in their churches.

My mother watched the news on television one day and saw several of the Catholic churches in Baghdad that were destroyed by roadside bombings. She was filled with anxiety and wept over the tragic events. She had a great love for the parish she had attended when she lived in Iraq and feared that it would also be leveled just like the others. One evening when my mother was very sad, I took her to the Padre Pio prayer group with me. When we came home, I placed a picture of Padre Pio next to my parents' bed. That night she had a vivid dream. In her dream, she was praying and pleading that God would protect her parish in Baghdad. Padre Pio suddenly appeared in her dream. He raised his hands and she could see the marks of the stigmata. He said to her in Aramaic, "Do not worry. There will be victory." When my mother woke up, she was filled with a great sense of peace. My parents' parish in Baghdad is still standing today. Although one window was shattered and an outer wall was damaged by an act of violence, the church was repaired and Mass is said there regularly. My parents have remained very devoted to Padre Pio.
-Zina Hallak

I Prayed to Padre Pio to Help Me     Recently I was falsely accused in a custody battle and put through a living hell. All the time, I prayed to Padre Pio to help me and I carried a relic of his with me at all times. I received his intercession  for my name has been cleared. The person who was responsible for the false accusations was held on six charges of contempt of court.
 -  Name Withheld

My GrandfatherTold me to Pray to Padre Pio        My grandfather, George Bartoli, went to see Padre Pio twice in his life, the first time in 1957. He was able to make his confession to Padre Pio. Usually confessions to Padre Pio lasted just a few minutes, but after the confession was over, Padre Pio and my grandfather talked for a long time. It seemed as though Padre Pio was very happy to speak with him and was in no hurry to end the conversation. My grandfather was from the northern part of Italy. He and Padre Pio talked about many things, including the wine and good food from the northern region of Italy. My grandfather had a handkerchief with him of a friend who was dying of cancer. He spoke to Padre Pio about her. "She will be in Paradise soon," Padre Pio said. Then he blessed the handkerchief saying that perhaps it would comfort her. My grandfather had always been a worrier. "Stay calm," Padre Pio repeated to him over and over. My grandfather said that Padre Pio had very piercing, dark eyes.

It was through my grandfather’s love for Padre Pio that I came to know and love him as well. I had drifted away from my Catholic faith and had become involved in the New Age movement. My husband and I separated and then divorced. I was living alone with my daughter and I was depressed. My grandfather was praying very hard for me to return to my faith.

I began to have double vision and then blurry vision and finally no vision at all. I was ready to get a seeing-eye dog. The doctor thought that I had a stroke but later I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a neuromuscular disease. The muscles in my eyelids became so weak that I could not even hold them open. I was set to have an operation on my eyes but there was no guarantee that my sight would be restored. My grandfather drove me to a final doctor appointment before the surgery. He gave me a relic of Padre Pio and told me to pray to him. I went into the examination room and before the doctor came in, I held the relic over my eyes and prayed and begged Padre Pio to heal me. My grandfather was in the waiting room, praying for me.

The doctor examined my eyes and then left the room. He came back and examined them one more time and then left the room again. He came in a third time with another doctor who also examined my eyes. Then they both left. I was quite scared. The doctor came in once again and told me that he wanted to cancel my surgery because he believed that I did not need the operation. The surgery was cancelled. I began to get my vision back and it improved daily. The biggest miracle of all was that because of the healing of my eyes, my faith was restored and also my marriage. My husband and I reconciled and were reunited after being apart for over five years.
- Claudia Bartolli-McKinney

I Prayed to St. Pio and Asked Him to Help My Friend     Recently I was praying in the side chapel in our local Cathedral of St. Monica's here in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. I was praying for a friend of mine who is an atheist and an alcoholic. She also has several diagnosed mental health problems including bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder. I prayed to St. Pio and asked him to help her. There was only one other man in the chapel at the time and as he was leaving, I noticed that he paused to touch the statue of Our Lady. At the moment he touched the statue, I perceived the sweetest fragrance of flowers. I believed it must have come from the man but after he left the chapel, the fragrance remained. I trusted then that St. Pio had heard my prayer. Shortly afterward, I received a message from my friend. She said that quite suddenly she had come to the conclusion that she must do something positive with her life. She has since applied for a good job and with Our Lord's help and mercy and St. Pio's intercession, I believe she is now on a new and positive path.
- Name Withheld

Padre Pio's Hand was So Warm    I live in Belfast, Ireland and one cold and windy winter morning, I went to pray in the chapel at the parish of St. Agnes. It was raining heavily that day. Outside it felt colder than the coldness of my heart and home. The night before had been a bitter night with family problems and I was broken-hearted. I entered the chapel of St. Agnes and kept the hood of my coat up hoping that no one would notice my tears. When I finished my prayers, I left the chapel by the side door. I was amazed to see a life-size bronze statue of Padre Pio at the foot of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. I had never noticed it before as St. Agnes is not my regular parish. Still crying, I went over and put my hand in Padre Pio's and begged for his help. Because it was such a cold day, I was taken aback by the warmth of the statue's hand. I wondered how it was possible that it could feel so warm. A few days later I returned to pray but also to see if the hand was still warm. The hand was stone cold. Over the last few years, I have visited the grotto a number of times and have touched the statue's hand. It has been cold ever since. It is my belief that Padre Pio personally comforted me on that Saturday morning. My mind was in such turmoil and my heart was so cold that he gave me some of his warmth. I love Padre Pio and I know he has helped me in many ways over the years.
- Name Withheld

It is a Beautiful Prayer," the Young Man Told Me      I  work as a volunteer chaplain at a nearby hospital. Recently, when I went to the hospital there was a note for me that one of the patients requested a visit. I went to the room and found a very nice looking young man in his late twenties. He told me that he was in alot of pain and also that he was very depressed because he had a relapse and had started using drugs again. He was in the hospital for drug related problems. He was so happy that I had come to visit him.

He told me that his father had introduced him to hard drugs when he was just thirteen years old and they used drugs together on a regular basis.  He said that due to drugs, four times he had gone into cardiac arrest and had been declared clinically dead.  He had a stroke on one occasion due to his drug abuse and  was paralyzed and unable to speak for a time. Fortunately his speech and movement both had returned.  However, he had started using drugs again and was very disappointed in himself. I told him that even though he had "fallen off the wagon," so to speak, God still loved him and he should never stop trying to be free of his addiction. All the time we were talking, the nurses and therapists were coming into his room making it difficult for us to talk. "This is just my luck," he said to me. "I finally get a visitor, and the nurses won't  give us a chance to talk."  I handed him the prayer of Padre Pio, "Stay with me, Lord," and told him I would come back later in the afternoon.

When I returned that afternoon, the young man looked so much happier. He said he loved the prayer of Padre Pio so much that he had called his mother on the telephone and read it to her. The prayer  touched him so much that he cried while reading it to his mother. He told her that he was thinking that he should go back to the Catholic Church. He had been away from the Church for a long time. His mother told him that she too, would  think about returning. After the phone call, he fell asleep and he said that he had not slept so peacefully and so deeply in a long time.

I know that Padre Pio's prayers are powerful and transforming. I have seen it on many occasions. I thank God for the blessing of seeing that power working in that young man's heart that day.
- Ron Allen

 My MotherTold me How Lucky I was That Padre Pio Chose to Help Me  I had lived in England for many years and to be honest, I did not live a good or holy life. I began seeing a man and I became pregnant. From that point on, the man no longer wanted anything to do with me. I moved back to Ireland to live with my parents as they said they would help support me and my baby. It was a very dark and painful time in my life. My son was born in November, 2006. It was a long and difficult labor and there were some serious complications. A few days after the birth of my son, I became quite ill, both physically and emotionally. The wound in my abdomen from the caeserean section deliver had opened and was bleeding.

My mother brought a medal of Padre Pio to the hospital and told me to put it under my pillow. I thought that my mother was very silly to suggest such a thing. I had never heard of Padre Pio before and I had no interest in learning about him either. I assumed he was a biblical figure and it annoyed me that my mother believed that Padre Pio could save me. I thought no more about the matter.

I was finally discharged from the hospital but my wound was still open and bleeding after ten days. My parents took care of my son so that I could sleep at night. One night I had a dream in which I was a little girl again, maybe seven or eight years old. I was standing in a field. I could see trees at the top of a hill. They were not like any of the trees I have ever seen in either England or Ireland but seemed to be from a foreign country. They looked like orange trees. Underneath the trees was a man dressed in a long brown cloak. He had a beard. I felt full of happiness just to be with him. He placed his hand on my head and then he hugged me. In my dream, I saw myself with a big smile on my face.

When I woke up, I did not think too much about the dream but as I was changing the dressing on my wound, I discovered that it had healed. It was not even bleeding. It was still painful but all the signs of the open wound had disappeared. I felt like a new person. I did not tell my mother about the dream, but when I showed her how the wound had healed, she could not believe it. Later, I came across a book on Padre Pio and saw a picture of him on the cover. Sure enough, he was the man I saw in my dream. I then told my mother. My eyes still fill with tears whenever I think about it. My mother told me how lucky I was that Padre Pio chose to help me.
- C. Tobin

A Special Grace   A few years ago my brother Louis took seriously ill. My mother begged, pleaded and implored Padre Pio to save him but it was not to be. He died after much suffering. My mother said that she had lost all faith in Padre Pio and she would not pray to him anymore. My brother looked after the ice cream manufacturing side of our business when he was alive. For years he could make no progress although he worked seven days a week, very long hours, but nothing would go right. Then he passed away. My son and my brother's son-in-law took over the business and they also tried all they knew to make it a success. We all tried - family, friends, and new management. The business went from bad to worse. We decided to sell out and get what we could for the machinery, the building, etc. to try and pay off the bank and the debts. We were facing bankruptcy if we carried on. Then I had a beautiful dream about Padre Pio. In my dream the face of Padre Pio was so clear and so happy. He had my brother with him and he said, "Everything is all right now." From that day on the business has gotten stronger and stronger. Customers old and new seem to come from nowhere. So many so, that this season we had to buy more machinery, new refrigerators and employ new people. To some this is unbelievable, but not to me.
- R. Luscardi

Padre Pio Said to my Mother, You Are Healed   I was raised in the Catholic Church but after a time, I lapsed. I lost interest in seeking God. I was not an atheist, for I never denied God's existence, but I lacked faith. By profession, I am a medical doctor and also a scientist. I used to say that I was a Catholic but I did not experience an authentic spiritual life until recently, when my mother, Telma Ferrari became ill. In 2008, my mother, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. After I received news of the diagnosis, I began to pray two novenas each day for my mother - a novena to Padre Pio and a novena to Our Lady of the Rosary. It was the first time in my life that I had ever prayed a novena. I chose to pray to Padre Pio because I had heard a testimonial of someone who had received a grace through his intercession and I was impressed by the story.

After a time, my mother and father joined me in praying the two novenas each day. My mother received chemotherapy and radiation at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. During the radiation treatment, she perceived the strong fragrance of roses. It accompanied her for over a month. She had an incredible response to the treatment and all traces of the tumor vanished. On one occasion, when I visited my parents at their home, we watched a movie about the life of Padre Pio. During the movie, a strong and exquisite fragrance of violets suddenly came from my mother's Rosary. I had never experienced anything like that in my life. At that moment, we all had a sense of inner peace.

This year, my mother developed cancer of the bone and although we did not lose our faith, we were very concerned. We prayed once again for the intercession of Padre Pio. After the first round of treatments, my mother heard a voice in her home. It was the voice of Padre Pio. He spoke to her in Italian and said, "You are healed." My mother understood the words easily for she speaks both English and Italian. After that, the bone pain that she was experiencing in her lower back went away. She was then able to walk by herself again without using her walker.

We went to San Giovanni Rotondo in June of this year, 2010, to express our gratitude for the graces that my mother (and all of us) received from Christ and Our Blessed Mother through the intercession of Padre Pio. I attended Mass with my parents at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and I felt moved to tears while I was at this church. They were not tears of sorrow but of joy and peace. While my mother was in the church, she noticed an intense fragrance of violets that lasted about 20 minutes. She felt a great peace in her heart. My mother's second tumor is now in remission. We are planning to visit San Giovanni Rotondo again this year, December 2010 in order to give thanks.
- Dr. Fernando Scaglia

They Drove Back to the Monastery to Thank Padre Pio  My uncle, Eugene (Gene) Grimes, told me of a miracle that occurred through his contact with Padre Pio. Uncle Gene enlisted in the Army Air Corp during World War II and was stationed at the Air Base in Foggia, Italy assigned to the 347 Bombardment Squadron. As a sargeant, he worked on the ground crew as a munitions inspector. Uncle Gene had been a devout Catholic all of his life, and he used to attend Padre Pio's Mass in San Giovanni Rotondo which was not a great distance from the air base. He and the other G.I.'s would take a two and a half-ton truck, called a deuce and a half, up the steep road that led to Padre Pio's monastery. He described Padre Pio as a very humble priest  and he was awed by his stigmata. He felt blessed whenever he was in his presence. Uncle Gene had the honor of being an altar server at Padre Pio's Mass. He knew what a great privilege it was.

One day after Mass, Padre Pio said to my uncle, "Gino, I want you to be very careful when you go back down the mountain today." He warned him about the brakes on the truck. Uncle Gene assured Padre Pio that he and the other soldiers would all be fine. Before they left, Padre Pio gave them a blessing. On the way down the mountain, the truck lost its brakes and began to pick up speed. The driver fought to keep it on the road. Uncle Gene was sitting in the front passenger's side of the truck. As they came around a blind curve on the narrow and winding road, they saw a massive five ton wrecker directly in front of them. It was about to hit them head-on. Suddenly Uncle Gene's whole life flashed before his eyes, and he believed that he was going to die. Their truck then started  to go off the side of the mountain. In an instant, their truck was back on the road but going in the opposite direction,  now headed up the mountain. There was no accident, no head-on collision. Uncle Gene and the other soldiers were awed by what had happened and knew that it was a miracle. They returned to the monastery to thank Padre Pio for saving them. They decided not to tell anyone because they were convinced that no one would believe them. In 1945, Uncle Gene received an honorable discharge from the Army and returned to the U.S. and made his home in Worcester, Massachusetts. His was very active in the parish of St. Peter located in Worcester. At that time, very few people in the U.S. had heard of Padre Pio. Uncle Gene remained very devoted to Padre Pio for the rest of his life.
- Charles T. Grimes

My Father Returned to Mass after an Absence of 30 Years My father, Sylvester Gentile had a brilliant mind and worked in the field of electrical engineering.  He was a published author and the book that he wrote was a best-seller in the world of engineering and was translated into several languages. He was a good man and he was very kind but he was not religious. He felt that religion was something for women who needed emotional comfort. Personally, he had no use for religion.

After my mother died at the young age of 52 years, my father fell into a depression. I gave him two books on Padre Pio which he read with interest. My father knew that Padre Pio's stigmata as well as the miracles that surrounded his life, were scientifically inexplicable. That fact convinced him of the existence of God. The graces that my father received after reading the books on Padre Pio caused him to return to Mass after an absence of 30 years. He began to attend Mass regularly at St. Dorothea's parish in Eatontown, New Jersey. My father then joined the Catholic prayer group that I belonged to. On one occasion, he gave a full presentation at our prayer group on Padre Pio, sharing many stories about his life as well as the scientific studies of his stigmata. It makes sense that God would use science to attract my father and bring him back to the faith!
 - Pat Hulick

 Padre Pio was in Contact with God   In 1952, I was a seminarian in the diocese of Pittsburgh and along with another seminarian, Tom Kirby, we went together for our summer vacation to visit some of my relatives in Italy and to see some of the places of pilgrimage in Rome. We had heard of Padre Pio and wanted to visit him so we took a bus from Rome. We were lucky to find lodging in San Giovanni Rotondo with an elderly woman. I can still remember that she cooked macaroni every night (which I wasn't too fond of) for the houseguests. I remember the cold stone floors in her home and the army cots that all the guests slept on. The accommodations were not the most comfortable and as a young seminarian, I felt that we were really roughing it.

 At the monastery, we got in line to go to Padre Pio for confession and before he entered the confessional we noticed that a woman was bothering him. She kept following him around, insisting that he give her a blessing. She would not leave him alone and he became so annoyed with the woman that he finally lost his patience and said to her in a very stern voice, "You can go to any priest for a blessing. You do not have to come to me. You must leave me alone." Seeing this incident caused Tom and I to lose our courage regarding making our confession to Padre Pio. We decided to leave the confessional line. I knew that Padre Pio had the gift of reading hearts. I did not mind what he might tell me about my future but the idea that he could look into my soul seemed frightening to me. I have always regretted that I did not avail myself of the opportunity to make my confession to him.

The Mass was held in an outdoor arcade, right beside the church. I assumed that the reason it was held outdoors was in order to accommodate all of the people who were there. Tom and I were in the very front row,  just a few feet from Padre Pio. The sleeves of his vestments were very long, but when he raised his hands during the Mass, I could see the wounds of Christ in his hands very clearly. The reverence with which he celebrated Mass was beautiful. He concentrated on the prayers of the Mass with great intensity and he said the Mass slowly. He seemed to be "somewhere else." I felt that he was in Heaven. He was in contact with God, we were certain of that. I knew in my heart that he was a saint.

Father Tom Kirby and I were ordained in the diocese of Pittsburgh in on May 25, 1957, a special day because May 25 is Padre Pio's birthday. This year, 2007, I celebrated 50 years in the priesthood. I never got the chance to return to San Giovanni Rotondo but I would go back in a heartbeat. It was such a beautiful experience.
- Father Ernest Paone

Conversion   In 1968, through the intercession of Padre Pio, my whole life changed, bringing me close to God and to our Blessed Mother. I was baptized into the Catholic church but I had a weakness. If anything went wrong, I would be sure to blame God. It seemed like everything was going wrong in my home and also my health deteriorated rapidly. I continued going to church but very seldom went to confession or received the Precious Body and Blood of our Savior. Finally, the last Sunday I went to Mass, I sat in the last seat, and I told God, "I don't belong here in church. You hate me and you only help your favorite ones." Everything continued going downhill, most of all my health. . . .No one was allowed to talk about God in my house. I threw away the holy pictures, medals, and rosaries. This continued for seven and a half years.

A lady mentioned Padre Pio to me and told me that she was going to send a letter to him asking for help. She asked me to write to him. I said I would write to him just to prove to her that Padre Pio was like God and only helped his favorites. In the letter, I asked for financial help and the return to God for my family who had also fallen away from the faith. An answer came back with a blessing that Padre Pio was sending. I threw the letter away. During this time, I was headed for a complete nervous breakdown. Nothing changed and my problems were too big and too many to carry any longer. The letter to Padre Pio was mailed out at the end of March. In April, I noticed a scent of something like the best kind of tobacco, something I had never smelled before. I thought of Padre Pio and started to cry. But it was a happy cry. On Sunday, I wanted to go to Mass. I called my family and told them what had happened. They thought I was finally having a breakdown. I attended Mass and shortly after went to confession. After my confession, I cried until I had no more tears left. I sent for all the books I could on the life of Padre Pio. Padre Pio died five months after I returned to God. I am now at peace with God who was so good to me after I hurt Him so much. Through the intercession of Padre Pio, two members of my family returned to the sacraments. One of my brothers stopped drinking. I thank you, God and I thank you, Padre Pio.
- Name Withheld

Padre Pio was Welcoming Him I had the honor of knowing a very wonderful man named Fred D'Angelo. Fred went to Mass everyday and he did this throughout his entire life. He lived in Lawrence, Massachusetts and I met him at my parish, "Our Lady of Mt. Carmel." Fred lived in Italy in the 1940's and he used to visit Padre Pio's monastery. He served at the altar at Padre Pio's Mass. He told me that one time he took a pair of Padre Pio's gloves because he wanted to have a souvenir to remember him by. When Padre Pio was looking for his gloves one day, Fred admitted to him that he had taken them. Padre Pio told him that all he had to do was ask, and he would have given them to him. He told Fred never again to take anything that did not belong to him. Then he told him that he was forgiven. Fred also told me that Padre Pio was very annoyed by the crowds of people who constantly pressed in on him, trying to touch his habit, etc. Fred always had a special glow about him whenever he talked to me about Padre Pio.

Before Fred passed away, he had to go to a nursing home. He spent all of his time there in prayer and in the chapel saying his Rosary. He told me that Padre Pio had come to him in the hospital. Padre Pio was in a very large place, like a town.  It was a pleasant place and everyone was friendly and welcoming. Padre Pio wanted Fred to join him there and was welcoming him. Shortly after that, Fred passed away.
- Kay Bonanno

Devotion to Padre Pio    My husband Bob and I first learned about Padre Pio by attending a slide presentation on his life at the Immaculate Conception parish in Queens, New York. We were both very inspired by the presentation. Shortly after that, we attended the Feast Day Celebration of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Brooklyn. I took my mother to the celebration in her wheelchair. It was extremely hot that day in July. I needed to get my mother out of the sun as soon as possible and into some shade. I looked everywhere but the only shady place I could see was across the street. When I walked across the street, I was surprised to see there a shrine which was dedicated to Padre Pio. Beside a beautiful and large bronze statue of Padre Pio, my mother rested and got relief from the hot sun. It was the only bit of shade in the whole area. Our devotion to Padre Pio began to grow as we learned more about him.

We live in an apartment building in Forest Hills, New York which has twenty-four hour parking service. Recently, after the attendant parked our car, he introduced himself to us. His name is Daniel and he is from Poland. He told us that he noticed the picture of Padre Pio that we have on the driver's side of our car and said  that he had received a miracle from Padre Pio about eighteen years previously. His mother had a great devotion to Padre Pio. When Daniel was young, he had a serious problem with his leg and needed to have surgery. His mother was so worried about his condition that she decided to go to San Giovanni Rotondo to pray at Padre Pio's tomb. When she returned to Poland, the doctor examined Daniel's leg. There was no longer any problem with it. The doctor said that in his twenty years of medical practice, he had never seen anything like it.
- Clotilde and Bob Varone

Someone was Speaking to Him, Urging Him to Make the Retreat   I have a brother who is full of anger, bitterness, resentment, hate, and selfishness. There is so much negativity in his body, mind and spirit. For two years I have been trying to get him to go on an ACTS retreat which is a wonderful Catholic four day retreat in our area in San Antonio, Texas. He finally decided to make the retreat and then two days before, on a Tuesday, my husband told me that he had changed his mind and was not going. I told my husband I was going to the computer to pray to Padre Pio and ask for his help and intercession. I went to the guestbook at saintpio.org and prayed to Padre Pio asking him to help my brother. The next day my brother had changed his mind again and had decided to go. He told me that he was sitting on his sofa at his apartment, thinking about his life, when he felt as though someone was speaking to him, urging him to make the retreat. When he returned from the four day retreat, he said that he had finally accepted Jesus into his life and he acknowledged that Jesus has always been there for him. He said that he just couldn’t see it before.  He is now on fire for God and sharing his faith with others. I give thanks and praise to Padre Pio, Our Lord Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. Praise God! Thank you Padre Pio! We love you.
 -  Name Withheld

I Became a Priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles    I went through twelve years of Catholic schooling but after I graduated from high school I lost all interest in the Church. I still tried to do good works and to do my part to make the world a better place, but my belief in God and the value of religion was limited. Many years later, it began to dawn on me that maybe there was more to God after all and I decided to take another look at the faith I was raised in. I  reasoned that if God truly existed, the Catholic Church and the Sacraments would be the best way to unite with Him. Returning to the Sacraments would allow me to be available to God's transforming power in the world. I finally made my confession after a thirteen year absence from the Church and began to attend Mass daily.

I used to help my brother who was a parish priest and I assisted him in his various ministries. One day when we were driving, I noticed a picture of a saint that he had placed near the dashboard of his car. I did not know who the saint was, but the moment I looked at the picture, I started to cry. My brother told me that it was a picture of Padre Pio. I had never heard of him as I had been away from the Church for a long time.

It dawned on me at that very moment that I had not made my way back to my Catholic faith on my own like I had assumed. I had alot of arrogance which was an obstacle in my path but I couldn't see it at the time.  When I saw the picture of Padre Pio, I had the deep conviction that it was he who had helped me in my conversion and that he had been praying and interceding for me.

More than 15 years later I entered the seminary. In 2006, after studying in the seminary for six years, I became a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and I now serve in the city of Pasadena.
- Father Paul Griesgraber

A Beautiful Dream   Not long ago I had a dream in which I was driving in a car with my father. As we were driving, I told my father to stop in front of Our Lady of Sorrows parish because I wanted to go inside. Our Lady of Sorrows is a parish in my hometown of Kansas City but it is not the parish I attend. In my dream, as I entered the church, I saw a statue of a man with a brown robe and a beard. At the base of the statue were dozens of beautiful red roses. There was a kneeler in front of the statue and so I knelt down. The statue then spoke to me, teaching me how to pray. It was the most beautiful dream I have ever had in my life. I often though about the statue and wondered who it was. At Christmas, I received a book about Padre Pio and when I saw a picture of a statue of Padre Pio it was exactly like the one in my dream. Knowing that Padre Pio is helping me in my journey through life is a great consolation.
- Michael Feierabend

 Padre Pio's Glove Encased in Glass was Placed on my Husband   In 1994, my husband became very ill with Crohn's Disease. He was not responding to the medical treatment that he was given. He became sicker and sicker and was in the Maine General Hospital in Waterville, Maine for 45 days. He had lost so much weight that he looked like a skeleton. There was a Padre Pio prayer group that met at St. Mary's parish in Agusta and my friend contacted them and told them about my husband's condition. They gave her their relic to borrow. It was a part of Padre Pio's glove encased in glass. They promised to pray for my husband. I brought the relic to the hospital that night and placed it on my husband's stomach and he and I prayed the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That was the prayer that Padre Pio had always prayed. My husband called me from the hospital at 4:00 a.m. the next morning. I was surprised since he was so weak that he could barely lift his hand. He told me that something had happened when the glove was placed on his stomach. He  felt a warmth go all the way through his body.  When the doctors came in to examine him the next morning, they were astounded. The swelling in his stomach had disappeared. They decided to go ahead and do surgery but the surgery went beautifully and he has never been bothered with this dread disease since.  I know Padre Pio's powerful intercession healed my husband and it was after that experience that I became a spiritual child of Padre Pio.
- Ann Douglass

A Visit    I first saw Padre Pio in 1964 when my late husband and I were on pilgrimage. The first morning we attended his Mass, we were fortunate to sit on a side pew next to the altar and were able to observe him closely. Somehow I could see the heavy cross on his shoulder and I could not ask for any favors as I felt he would have to suffer still more to obtain a favor for me. However, I wanted my Rosary blessed. After Mass, the men gathered in another room to get Padre Pio's blessing. I gave my Rosary to my husband and I knelt by the altar and in my prayer asked Padre Pio to bless my Rosary. When my husband returned I could see that he was visibly shaken. He said that Padre Pio was walking around the room from one man to the next and when he came to the opposite side of the room, he quickly turned around and walked straight up to my husband and placed his hand on my Rosary. My husband said that Padre Pio's penetrating look into his eyes made his eyes almost hurt.
- Mrs. C. Blasingame

Your Healing Will Come       I often spent my time praying before a crucifix that is in my parish church.  One night I had a dream in which I saw Padre Pio. Two Capuchin priests were with him and they were all standing in a church, in front of  the tabernacle.  In my dream, Padre Pio pointed at the tabernacle and told me that my healing was going to come but it would come from the Blessed Sacrament. Since then, I always spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Shortly afterward, I had an operation and it was very successful. I pray to Padre Pio every day of my life, beginning with his chaplet and the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he prayed daily. 
- Nicoline Kenjing 

In Quezon City, Philippines, I Found a Prayer Pamphlet of Padre Pio  In the year 2000, 3 months after our wedding, we learned that my wife was pregnant. Like  other newly-wed couples, we were extremely delighted with the news. Thursday of that week, my wife went to the doctor. That day was a most difficult day for us as the doctor told us that she suspected an ectopic pregnancy. A sonogram revealed that it  was indeed true. The baby was growing in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. We were devastated by the news. We decided to go to another clinic and have another sonogram done, just to be sure. The second sonogram revealed the same. We returned to my wife's doctor who informed us that the pregnancy had to be terminated. The baby could not survive and my wife's life was endangered as well. The doctor wanted to schedule the procedure for Monday.

Before we went home that day, we visited the Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Quezon City, Philippines. We prayed so hard hoping that a miracle would happen. As I was praying, I noticed a little prayer pamphlet in the church. It was a pamphlet about Padre Pio, with prayers and devotions. I had never heard of Padre Pio before. I showed the pamphlet to my wife and told her that we should pray and seek Padre Pio’s intercession. We prayed  to Padre Pio for the safety of our little one. We prayed that the baby would move towards the uterus. I began to feel confident that everything would be fine. Monday came and we postponed the procedure to terminate the preganancy. I went to work and shared our predicament with close friends. My Godmother told me to seek another opinion. We went to the doctor she recommended to us. He told us to postpone the procedure for one month and to continue to pray. After a prayerful month, we learned that the baby had moved towards the uterus. We received an answer to our prayers through the intercession of Padre Pio! Our first born child is a healthy 9 year old boy now. He is doing very well in school and is turning out to be a fine boy. His name is Pio! I thank God for letting us experience His presence in our family through St. Padre Pio. Today, we continue to pray and seek Padre Pio’s intercession for guidance.
-Mike Cunanan 

 Free of Cigarette Addiction    I visited the Padre Pio friary  in Salcete, in Goa, India and became acquainted with Brother Peter, OFM Cap. He is one of the Franciscans who lives in the friary. The friary in Salcete is about a three hour distance from where I live in Siolim, Goa, India.  I was able to visit the chapel in the friary that is dedicated to Padre Pio. Brother Peter, who is ninety-eight years old, gave me a prayer for the intercession of Padre Pio and after having the prayer  for a number of months, I finally started to say the novena to Padre Pio. I prayed to be able to quit smoking and thanks be to God, my prayer was answered.  After being a smoker for twenty-two years, on March 18, 2007, I was healed of my addiction to cigarettes. Padre Pio has helped me in other difficulties as well and is working wonders in my life and in my family's life. 
- Ballerina Martins Pinto 

An Unusual Fragrance   I suffered from a sharp pain in my rib cage for four months. The pain was so severe that it became even painful to breathe. I went to the emergency room and had further tests and doctor visits but the cause remained a mystery. One day, in the mail, I received a little medal of Padre Pio. I pinned it on my shirt and right after that, the pain left and has never returned. A short time later, I woke up from a sound sleep to a very unusual and sweet fragrance that was in my bedroom. I do not use perfume so I could not understand what it was. The next  morning, as soon as I woke up, I noticed the Padre Pio newsletter, "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry" on my table. I had picked it up at church. The title of the newsletter was, "The Extraordinary Perfume of Padre Pio." I read the story about Padre Pio's perfume and then I understood. Thank you, St. Pio. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that your spirit would visit me in such a way.
- Angie Delarosa

The Doctor was Perplexed    I have a friend named Glenda who is a Protestant  and belongs to the Presbyterian denomination. I shared with her the prayers of Padre Pio and told her about his life and his familiar saying, "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry." I gave her a Padre Pio Rosary. I also gave her a pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary and suggested that she pray it each day. Glenda thought it was a good idea and began to pray the Rosary every morning. She told me that whenever she had entered a Catholic Church in the past, she always had a special feeling. I told her that she was feeling the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

 Glenda had to go to the hospital for quadruple bypass heart surgery. Her sister called me to let me know that she came through the surgery just fine. However, her sister said that the doctor had come to her room the next day and he was perplexed. He told Glenda that she was repeating some initials during the operation and he as well as all of the doctors and nurses who were attending her, were curious as to what she was saying. He said that none of his patients had ever murmurred even one word during open heart surgery. The anesthetic they are given is so strong, that they do not utter a sound in their unconscious state. But Glenda for some reason, was different. "What was I saying?" Glenda asked him. "You were constantly repeating the initials, P, H, D, W  the doctor answered. We would like to know what it stand for. Then Glenda understood and told him, "It stands for "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry." The doctor has since shared the phrase with his patients who are preparing for surgery.
- Tom Thurston

A Healing Touch    In July, 1956, while traveling in Spain, I contracted amoebic dysentery. I became progressively ill, but did not seek medical attention until about ten days later when I was in San Giovanni Rotondo.  I had come there with my mother to attend Padre Pio's Mass. After Mass I went to Padre Pio's hospital, "The Home for the Relief of Suffering." A wonderful doctor, Dr. Pietro Melillo, attended to me every day. The doctor's examination also revealed that I had an abscess on the liver. I suffered with fever, chills, and pain. One day when the doctor examined me, I had a very high fever and a weak heart beat. I was gravely ill. As he left my bedside to discuss my condition with my mother, I felt as though a fresh, cool breeze had passed over me. The weight of pain and fever had left me and I suddenly felt free and comfortable and alive. I called the doctor and told him I felt well. He saw the transformation in my condition. He took my temperature and pulse again. Both were perfectly normal. Then the doctor told my mother and me that he realized the gravity of my condition and had spoken to Padre Pio about me. He asked the holy priest if he could touch his wound and in turn come and touch me. Padre Pio permitted it and the doctor hurried from the monastery to touch me with those hands which had just touched the blessed stigmata. The doctor, my mother and myself had no doubt that my recovery was instantaneous and extraordinary.
- Estelle Hartnett

I Was Very Worried About my Son     I was half out of my mind with worry over my oldest son who was in the Air Force flying helicopters. I would cry and cry and walk the floor. Then I heard about Padre Pio. I wrote to him, begging him to pray so that my son would be safe. I received a letter from Italy saying that Padre Pio would pray for me. It was just about the time he would have received my letter, that I changed completely. I didn't worry about my son anymore or cry. I was a different person. And needless to say, my son came home safe.
- Eileen Dunham

I Was Given the Last Rites    In September 2004 I spent two months in the hospital and was placed on life support. I was the victim of a shooting. Several times during the operation to remove the bullet,  my heart stopped. My family asked the doctor to tell them the truth about my condition. The doctor said that I had a three percent chance of surviving. A priest came in the hospital and gave me the Last Rites. When I came back to consciousness, I was in excruciating pain. I was so weak that I could not even lift my head up from the pillow or raise my arms or legs. I have a very big family and for the two months I was in the hospital, they never left my bedside. My family prayed to Padre Pio, asking for his intercession so that my life would be spared. One of his relics was placed on me. I slowly began to get better. When the  doctors saw the improvement they called me a  "living miracle." They told me that they had given up hope for my recovery. I believe that I am alive today and back to normal because of the intercession of Padre Pio.  I truly believe Padre Pio gave me back my life.
- Name Withheld

I Have Prepared Her Death Certificate I learned about Padre Pio through a lady named Judy Hayes. Judy shared with me some of the incidents of St. Pio's life. She told me that she had received a miracle by praying to him. From that time forward I have had a great devotion to Padre Pio. When Judy learned that she had cancer, it was already in stage four and had spread to her bones. She went to a religious articles store to get a novena to pray for healing. While there, she noticed a holy card of Padre Pio. It seemed to be calling to her. Judy bought the Padre Pio prayer card and began to pray to him for his intercession. She prayed that she might be healed of cancer. Shortly after that, she had a health crisis and had to go to the hospital for several months. While in the hospital, Judy overheard the nurse talking to the other nurses. The nurse said, "Judy's condition is so bad that she will die tonight. I have already prepared her death certificate. It needs to be given to the doctor for his signature." What the nurse did not know was that Judy was praying to St. Pio for healing. She is alive today and cancer-free. I thank God for St. Pio and for the help I have received from him in my own life.
- Kathleen Lusk

A Novena to Padre Pio     In May, 1995, false charges were brought against me and I was suspended from my work until the investigation was completed. I was really shaken up and my wife and children were also very upset. Then, my friend gave me a copy of the prayer that Padre Pio used to say and she asked me to make a novena. As I am not Catholic, I did not know how to make a novena. She explained it to and I started saying this prayer. After a few days, my wife and I were seated in front of our cottage. It was a beautiful day and suddenly we saw a rainbow far in the distance. As we watched this beautiful sight, to our astonishment, the far end of the rainbow advanced toward us. It finally stopped directly in front of us, dancing in the lake. We were astounded. All at once, I knew that this was an answer to the prayer that I had made through the intervention of Padre Pio. The following week I received a letter from my employer that the investigation had been completed, and that I was found not guilty of the charges. At this point I am a Protestant, amazed at the power of this prayer, and very thankful to God and to Padre Pio for having interceded on my behalf.
- Name Withheld

I Told Her to Touch Each Bead and Say  "Jesus I Love You "    About 3 years ago my niece, Patricia Gail  was diagnosed with thymus cancer. She was told to get her affairs in order and to make provisions to have someone take care of her two children, for she did not have much time left. Gail is not a practicing Christian, but she does believe in Jesus as her Savior. I worked at a Catholic Book & Gift Shop and bought her a St. Padre Pio Rosary, had it blessed and took it to the hospital to give to her. I told her about St. Pio and the many healings that occurred through him. She informed me that she was not Catholic and did not know how to pray the Rosary. Her surgery was the next day and time was a factor so I told her  just to touch each bead and say, "Jesus, I love You." After the surgery, the doctor came to the waiting room and said that he removed all of the tumor. He said that it looked to be cancer and the blood work showed it to be cancer and that she would most likely need to have chemo-therapy.  At least ten days went by and Gail was so surprised at the results of the lab work. The tumor was not cancerous and she was healed. Gail was told that she was a miracle. I even heard her state that she was a miracle. I thank God for the gift of believing and seeing with my soul His marvelous miracles and feeling His comforting love.
- Kathy Bee  

Two Brushes with Death and Padre Pio's Intercession      On March 6, 2003, I suffered a near fatal accident when I fell down some basement stairs in a friend’s house. I was taken to the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, New York. I suffered three fractures to my spine as well as severe brain trauma. I became comatose. The doctors told my family that I had very little chance of survival.

My mother, who lives in Florida, has had a great devotion to Padre Pio for as long as I can remember. She has a small relic of Padre Pio, a piece of his habit. She took the relic and taped it to a photograph of me. She began a prayer vigil, and through the night prayed to Padre Pio, asking for his intercession. The morning after my mother’s prayer vigil, I awoke from the coma which I had been in for eleven days. Still, the doctors were not optimistic. They only gave me a fifty-fifty chance of recovery. I remained in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for twenty-one days. But I continued to make steady progress and finally was released from the hospital.

On one of my follow-up appointments at the hospital, I ran into some of the doctors who worked in the Intensive Care Unit. My memory of them naturally was a little hazy but they recognized me because they had treated me. I greeted them and they stared at me with incredulous expressions on their faces. The senior doctor said, "Look at you, walking and talking! You are the miracle man!" I almost wept when the doctor said that to me. I learned that "miracle man" was the nickname that the hospital staff had given me.

In December of the same year, an elderly woman, who had an epileptic seizure while driving, ran into my car head on. My car rolled over four times and finally landed on its side. The woman who was driving the car behind me told me that she was convinced that she was about to crash into my car as well. She said that she had lost control of her car but at the very last second, her car simply turned of its own accord, and she missed hitting me by inches.

These experiences, these near brushes with death, changed me completely. I used to be a non-practicing Catholic, living in sin, going to Mass on Christmas and Easter only. I have now returned to the Catholic Church in earnest. I work as a film maker, and have worked in all aspects of the film industry. I hope to make a full-length feature film on the life of St. Pio. I carry his relic with me now at all times.

I may be called the miracle man by the doctors, but we all know who the real miracle man is! From the bottom of my heart, thank you St. Pio for not losing faith in this sinner.
- Peter D. Bove

She Will be Drawing Water from the Well    Padre Pio is no stranger to my family. In the 1950's, my cousin Sara wanted desperately to become a nun but could not leave home because of her mother Rosa's very poor health. Sara was taking care of her and she did not feel she could leave her to enter the convent. She wanted to talk to Padre Pio about it so she contacted San Giovanni Rotondo and then she and her father traveled by train from their home in Sant' Alfio, Sicily to speak to him. During the train ride, Sara and her father had something to eat. During the meal, her father accidently spilled some wine on his clothing. Sara felt very embarrassed to think that Padre Pio might see the wine stains on her father's clothing or even worse that they would greet Padre Pio with her father smelling of wine. She gave her father a scolding. When they finally were able to speak to Padre Pio, he assured her that she would be able to enter the convent and that her mother would be fine. In fact, Padre Pio told them that upon their return home, they would find Rosa drawing water from the well. This was impossible for her to do since she suffered from serious heart problems and was too weak to perform even the simplest and most menial tasks. During their conversation, Padre Pio told Sara not to ever again scold her father. My cousin was shocked that Padre Pio knew that this had happened on the train. Needless to say, when they returned home, they found Rosa drawing water from the well just as Padre Pio assured them. Rosa regained her health immediately and miraculously. Sara was able to leave home and enter the convent. I am also proud to say that I have experienced Padre Pio's love and intercession in my own life and also with my immediate family. We too have received many graces through the intercession of Padre Pio.
- Rosa Del Popolo

A Bicycle Accident     I have a strong devotion to Padre Pio  and have prayed that he would accept me as one of his spiritual children. Not long ago I had a very serious mountain biking accident in which I broke 5 of my ribs and punctured my lung. My accident occurred in a valley which was about 45 minutes away from the nearest road. There was no one nearby to help me. I could barely breathe and I  was choking on my blood. I felt like I was dying. I thought of my family and I wanted to live so that I could take care of them. I began to pray to Padre Pio and the Blessed Virgin Mary to help me. Although still in pain, after praying to Padre Pio and the Virgin Mary, I was able to breathe much easier and the bleeding subsided.  It took over an hour for the paramedics to arrive and then I was life-flighted to the hospital.  I believe without the help of Padre Pio and the Blessed Mother Mary I would not have made it out of that valley alive. Thank you Padre Pio and our Holy Mother in Heaven.
- Caterina Brott 

A Transformation in My Life   I am 20 years old and a student of the University for Development Studies in Ghana, West Africa. I recently read about Padre Pio on the website and listened to his voice and read the many testimonials recorded. My heart was so touched by what I read. I began to pray his "Prayer after Holy Communion" every day. Since then, I have seen a transformation in my life, morally, socially, and even academically.
- Ayinbora Joshua

The Room was Filled with the Fragrance of Violets     After the birth of my third child, I suffered a post partum depression which affected me with phobias that made me ill and in many ways made me incapable of caring for my infant and the family. I had heard all about Fr. Pio from a relative of mine. I had written to Fr. Pio about my plight and asked for his intercession. His superior wrote back to me saying, "Fr. Pio wants you to know that  all will be well."  Shortly after that as I prayed before a  picture of Fr. Pio, I sensed his presence and the room was filled with the fragrance of violets. From that moment on, I was cured of this ailment.
- Name Withheld

A Child's Healing    My daughter Margaret, who was born in 1950, had always been weak and ill. I had taken her to several doctors and they said that she would grow out of it. A doctor came to her school and upon seeing Margaret he sent me a letter stating that I should take her to a heart specialist. She was eleven years old at the time. When she was examined and x-rayed, it was found that she had a hole in her heart and the valves in her heart were small. She would have to have a serious operation but since she was so weak she was sent home to build up her strength for the surgery. When we came home, Margaret told me she would write a letter to Padre Pio. She did this and a short time later she received a nice letter from him. He told her not to worry but to go the hospital and everything would be all right. When we went to the doctor and another x-ray was taken, the doctor asked me what had been done to her. I told him nothing for I did not know what he was talking about. He showed me both x-ray's. One showed a large hole in the heart and the last x-ray showed that the hole was almost closed. She didn't have to go in for the heart operation.
- Mary Cunningham

Padre Pio Pressed my Crucifix to His Lips I visited San Giovanni Rotondo and attended Padre Pio's Mass several times, when as a U.S. soldier, I was stationed in Italy during World War II. The first time I met Padre Pio, I was very nervous and shaking in my boots. However, he smiled at me when we were introduced, and I lost all of my fear. Because I did not speak Italian, one of the Capuchins acted as translator. Padre Pio was very friendly and seemed happy to greet me. He had a wonderful sense of humor and often liked to tell innocent jokes. On several occasions, the other soldiers and I would walk with Padre Pio down the hall when he was on his way to hear the mens' confessions. One time I asked him to bless a crucifix of mine. He took it and blessed it and then pressed it to his lips very hard before giving it back to me. Mary Pyle, his secretary, told me many things about Padre Pio's life. She was a third order Franciscan and had a house just below the monastery. After Padre Pio's Sunday Mass, a group of soldiers and I would visit Mary and she would serve us breakfast. I also met Padre Pio's father at Mary Pyle's house. He was a quiet man and I remember that he was able to speak some English. After the war was over and I returned to the U.S. Mary and I kept in touch through letters. When Mary and a friend of her's came on a visit to the U.S. they visited me in Philadelphia.
- Joe Revelas

I Prayed to Padre Pio that My Mother Would Receive the Last Rites My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The most painful part of the illness for her was the awareness that she was losing her independence and her sharpness of mind. After four years, my sisters and I realized that she could no longer remain in her own home, even with 24-hour care. We found a lovely care facility for her. Mom's condition rapidly worsened.

During this time, I prayed daily to Padre Pio that Mom would have a priest to assist her and give her the Last Rites before she passed away. I begged Padre Pio to help her in this way. After a fall, she was moved to a hospital and her condition worsened. However, when Fr. Don came to see her, she recognized and remembered him and was able to receive the sacraments of Anointing of the sick and the Eucharist. Two days later, I received a call that I needed to come to her bedside to say goodbye. I called her and told her I was on my way. She had not been able to have a phone conversation for 6 months. But she was able to take my call and to understand what I was saying to her. As I hung up the phone, the scent of roses filled the car. I thanked Padre Pio for obtaining these favors for me and for my mother. She passed away peacefully two days later. Glory to God for his tremendous prayer warrior, Padre Pio.
- Kayte Russell

I Asked Padre Pio to Send Me a Sign A few years ago I was praying to St. Pio and I asked him to send me a sign that he was listening to my prayers. Well, about a week later I received a package in the mail from Italy. The package came from San Giovanni Rotondo. A letter inside the package informed me that I had won the "Epiphany Raffle." I had never even heard of the Epiphany Raffle. I won books on St. Pio, a number of beautiful photographs of St. Pio, a St. Pio hat and many other St. Pio items. Padre Pio had given me his sign that he was definitely listening to my prayers.
- Josie Grossi

Brenda, You Had Better Get Up! Once, while on a job-hunting trip, I checked into a motel for the night. Several people who were at the motel made me feel uneasy. I began to feel a concern for the safety of my car and I hoped that it would not be vandalized in the night. Before I went to bed, I prayed and asked Padre Pio to watch over me and protect me and also my car. That night,I had a dream. In the dream, I was laying on my right side, and Padre Pio came and shook me awake saying, "Brenda, I think you'd better get up now." When I woke up, I was laying on my right side, just like in my dream. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 3:00 a.m. I was so groggy, that I fell asleep again. I then had a second dream in which Padre Pio shook me once again, saying with greater emphasis, "Brenda! You had better get up now!" At that, I got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, the two fellows who had concerned me after I checked in to the motel, were at my car. One of them was under it! They left hastily when that saw me at the window. I am convinced that Padre Pio heard my prayer that night and came to my rescue.
- Brenda Zizzo

Lord, Send Padre Pio to Help my Parents In my younger years, when I was on a quest to grow in spiritual understanding, I found a used book, a biography of Padre Pio. After I read the book, I knew that I wanted Padre Pio to be my spiritual father for the rest of my life. Many years later, I read another book on his life and my dedication to him grew even greater.

When my mother and father were in their early 80's, they were having some financial difficulties. One night I knelt by my bed and prayed, "Lord, send Padre Pio to my parents to help them." Two weeks later, I was visiting my parents when my mother said, "I had a most unusual experience a few nights ago. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. and there was a monk standing right next to me. The hood of his habit was pulled up on his head." I asked my mother if she was afraid and she told me that she had no fear at all. On the contrary, she said that she felt very peaceful. When the monk appeared at her bedside, she looked over at my father because she intended to wake him up, and when she looked back, the monk was gone. I then told her that I had prayed to Padre Pio and I had asked him to help both her and my father. Right after that, my parents' financial difficulties all resolved and they had no more worries. I believe that my parents realized that Padre Pio's visit was an answer to my prayers. But because they were both Protestants, and because the idea of saints was not in their religious tradition, I feel that they had some difficulty comprehending what had happened. Through the years, the blessings that I have received from Padre Pio continue to help me and to strengthen my faith in God.
- Dr. Ron Cobb - Retired Colonel, U.S. Army

My Father's Dream My father, Italo Francia had not been feeling well. When he went to the doctor for tests, it was found that he had a large cancerous tumor. In order to shrink the tumor, he was given radiation and chemotherapy at the Metropolitan Hospital's Windsor Cancer Center in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. After that, he had surgery. He had to continue with the chemotherapy treatments after the surgery. The treatments made him so ill that he said that he would rather die than endure any more of them. He told his doctor that he had decided to discontinue the treatments. My mother and I resigned ourselves to my father's decision.

Throughout my father's illness, my mother had been praying to Padre Pio for a cure. I too prayed for Padre Pio's intercession. I pulled out an old prayer card that my mother had given me years before. I prayed to Padre Pio that my father would be healed and that he would be able to walk me, his only daughter, down the aisle some day. If however, it was his time to die, I prayed that he would not suffer. During this time, I learned more about Padre Pio and the miracles that he performed, even after his death.

The night before his next doctor's appointment, my father had a dream. In his dream, he was at the doctor's office. On the monitor appeared two images of Padre Pio's face where the tumor had been. After my father woke up, he felt secure that all would be well. A few days later we got the joyous news that my father was cancer-free. My parents are planning to go on a pilgrimage to Padre Pio's monastery to thank him for this miracle.
- Maria Francia

A Very Important Day I recently had a very vivid dream in which I was walking with a man who was carrying a lantern. He was limping slightly as he walked and his posture was somewhat bent. He had a serious demeanor and I noticed that he seemed to be in a hurry. He spoke to me in Italian and said that a very important day was coming soon. I understood the Italian words in my dream even though I do not speak the language. Then the dream ended.

I told my good friend Tony Fajardo about the dream and he then showed me a picture of Padre Pio. There was no doubt about it. He was the man I had seen in my dream. I knew practically nothing about Padre Pio. Tony had told me on a previous occasion that he had the stigmata. That was the extent of my knowledge. I had never seen a photo of Padre Pio before. I did not even know that he was from Italy.

In my dream, I felt that Padre Pio was proud of me for finally realizing that the Catholic faith was destined to be a part of my life. This month I am going to begin to take classes so that I can be confirmed. In the dream, when Padre Pio said that an important date was coming up, I thought that he might be talking about his birthday. But since then, I have learned that he received the Stigmata on Sept 20 and that his feast day is September 23. I had the dream on September 6.
-Nicholas Beattie

A Special Blessing    My mother suffers from Alzheimer's disease. I had been taking her to an Alzheimer's day care center but recently I was told that  my mother could no longer return. He dementia was so severe that the administrator recommended that she be placed in a secured Alzheimer's facility in a nursing home.

I looked and looked but could not find a facility that would fit my mother's needs. I became very worried. Then I prayed to Padre Pio and asked him to help me find something suitable. Right after that prayer I had a dream in which a saw a number of Catholic women caring for my mother. They all had dark hair but I could not see their faces clearly. In my dream, I took my mother's hand and we walked outside. We were in a heavenly place. The sky was a midnight blue, the most beautiful blue I had ever seen. It had a velvet-like quality and I would call it a "living sky" because it was pulsating with life. A huge round moon, like a glowing iridescent pearl was reflecting in the clear waters of a lake that we were standing in front of. A forest of emerald colored trees surrounded the lake. A waterfall cut through the trees, causing their leaves to shimmer and sparkle like diamonds. Every leaf was alive and shimmering.  The intensity of the colors was such that the  most beautiful place on earth would look like a wasteland in comparison. The beauty of what I was beholding almost took my breath away and I could not take my eyes from the sight. Then I woke up.

Right after that, I went to visit another nursing home. When the administrator greeted me, I noticed that she was wearing a crucifix for a necklace. As she took me on a tour of the facility she mentioned to me that she was a Catholic.  We passed by a large room where many of the residents were gathered. They were singing. They all looked happy and I also noticed that the staff was very friendly.  This care home was not depressing like the others I had seen but  was actually uplifting. The administrator explained to me that the Alzheimer's unit had no openings. There were 275 residents in the skilled nursing section and 50 in the Alzheimer's section and there was always a waiting list of people in the skilled nursing area waiting to move over to the Alzheimer's unit. They always had preference over anyone coming in from the outside.

She took me to the Alzheimer's unit and introduced me to the head of Staff Development. She was a wonderful Catholic woman I had known a number of years ago.  She told me there were no openings in the Alzheimer's unit. It was such a loving and caring environment that I decided to have my mother's name added to the waiting list even though it looked like it would be a long wait. But the problem was that I could not wait. I needed to find a place for my mother immediately.

Then I went to see the Admission's administrator. As we talked, I learned that she was a member of my parish, even though I had never met her before. She told there were no openings. I told her that I had been praying to Padre Pio for my mother's needs. She seemed so surprised to hear me mention Padre Pio's name. She told me that for the first time ever, she had just sent his prayers to one of her sick relatives."I think you and I have some kind of Padre Pio connection" she said to me. Then I remembered my dream. In a very short period of time, I had just met three Catholic women and they all had dark hair, although in my dream I could not see their faces clearly.

She made a short phone call and then said to me, "We do have an opening. There is one opening in the Alzheimer's unit." My mother was admitted immediately. She went to the unit for lunch and then to take a nap. My mother has been truly happy in this nursing home and the tender loving care she receives is an inspiration.

Sometimes I become very sad when I remember the way my mother used to be and all that Alzheimer's disease had taken from her. Then I think about my dream and that heavenly place we were standing in. Perhaps I got a little glimpse of the beautiful place that God is preparing for my mother, when she leaves this life for a better one. Even if we have to endure many sufferings here below,  it doesn't really matter so much, when we think about our true home, Heaven.
- Diane Allen

You can receive a copy of Padre Pio's prayer,  "Stay with Me, Lord," as well as the "Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus" which Padre Pio prayed every day. Also included is a prayer for Padre Pio's intercession holy card, as well as other inspirational and informational material about Padre Pio's life and spirituality.

Send four stamps and your address to  - Diane Allen   P.O.Box 191545    San Diego, CA 92159  and request the Padre Pio Information  Packet.

We are happy to announce that Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book II by Diane Allen, is now available. Follow the link, "Padre Pio Books" on the top left menu bar of this page and then click on "Book II" for ordering information.The author has continued her research and study of the life and spirituality of Padre Pio and has continued to interview those who met Padre Pio personally and had a testimony to share. The book, published by Padre Pio Press contains 39 chapters and 480 pages. Chapters include Padre Pio's Love for the Holy Angels, Padre Pio's Healing Touch, Padre Pio's Seraphic Father: St. Francis of Assisi, Padre Pio: An Extraordinary Confessor, Padre Pio's Prophetic Spirit, Padre Pio's Gift of Bilocation, Padre Pio and the Children, Stories from the War Years,                            and much more.


Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio by Diane Allen was published in 2009. Diane and her husband, Deacon Ron Allen traveled to many parts of the United States and interviewed more than 35 people who had met Padre Pio and had a story to share. Their testimonies as well as a number of selections from the Padre Pio quarterly publication, "Pray, Hope and Don't Worry," are contained in this 400 page book of 39 chapters. Chapters include Padre Pio's Way of the Cross, Padre Pio's Love for the Blessed Mother, The Extraordinary Perfume of Padre Pio, Padre Pio's Holy Death and much more. This book is available at amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other book stores. Check the link "Padre Pio Books" on the top left menu bar on this page for more information.