This is by far the best life of Padre Pio in print. It tells the amazing story of the obscure Italian priest who became famous all over the world, both for his stigmata and for his miracles and supernatural insights. #goodreads-widget { font-family: georgia, serif; padding: 18px 0; width:350px; } #goodreads-widget h1 { font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #BBB596; margin-bottom: 0; } #goodreads-widget a { text-decoration: none; color: ʔ } iframe{ background-color: #ffffff; } #goodreads-widget a: hover { text-decoration: underline; } #goodreads-widget a: active { color: ʔ } #gr_footer { width: 100%; border-top: 1px solid #BBB596; text-align: right; } #goodreads-widget .gr_branding{ color: #382110; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; font-family: "Helvetica Neue," Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; } Goodreads reviews for Padre Pio Revised and Expanded: The True Story Reviews from Goodreads.com

St. Pio of Pietrelcina, pray for us. Before his death in 1968, Padre Pio was known throughout the world as a very holy man — many even called him a living saint. This humble Italian priest who bore the wounds of Christ received thousands of letters and visitors each year, seeking his spiritual counsel, healing, and prayer. Padre Pio’s intense spirituality and holiness remain legendary and life-changing. This is the comprehensive life story of the priest who became world famous for his stigmata, miracles, and supernatural insights. Read in detail about the many miracles of Padre Pio, and discover how knowing this powerful saint can change your life, too. By far the best biography of Padre Pio ever written — newly updated with more details and 16 pages of photos!

The first historical appraisal of the astonishing life and times of a controversial twentieth-century saint Padre Pio is one of the world's most beloved holy figures, more popular in Italy than the Virgin Mary and even Jesus. His tomb is the most visited Catholic shrine anywhere, drawing more devotees than Lourdes. His miraculous feats included the ability to fly and to be present in two places at once; an apparition of Padre Pio in midair prevented Allied warplanes from dropping bombs on his hometown. Most notable of all were his stigmata, which provoke heated controversy to this day. Were they truly God-given? A psychosomatic response to extreme devotion? Or, perhaps, the self-inflicted wounds of a charlatan? Now acclaimed historian Sergio Luzzatto offers a pioneering investigation of this remarkable man and his followers. Neither a worshipful hagiography nor a sensationalist exposé, Padre Pio is a nuanced examination of the persistence of mysticism in contemporary society and a striking analysis of the links between Catholicism and twentieth-century politics. Granted unprecedented access to the Vatican archives, Luzzatto has also unearthed a letter from Padre Pio himself in which the monk asks for a secret delivery of carbolic acid—a discovery which helps explain why two successive popes regarded Padre Pio as a fraud, until pressure from Pio-worshipping pilgrims forced the Vatican to change its views. A profoundly original tale of wounds and wonder, salvation and swindle, Padre Pio explores what it really means to be a saint in our time.

Padre Pio died September 23, 1968, his funeral attended by over 100,000 people. During the fifty-eight years he was a priest, his monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, became a mecca for pilgrims from all over the world. Born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887 at Pietrelcina in southeastern Italy, Padre Pio joined the Capuchin Order in 1903 and was ordained in 1910. On September 20, 1918 he received the sacred wounds of Christ, or the stigmata, which he bore the rest of his life.

Padre Pio developed a special love for America and Americans - to the point that he wished that all Americans would become his spiritual children. (This book shows how we can still do so!) Includes the fascinating life story of Padre Pio, with emphasis on his early years at San Giovanni Rotondo. From this remote mountain friary he became world famous and exercised unbelievable influence on the world. Covers his early work with Mary Pyle, and with the American GIs who came to visit him during WWII when his part of Italy was liberated. This book demonstrates his amazing sense of humor, his prayer and fasting, his uncanny knowledge of people, his profound supernatural awareness, and more!

This rare glimpse into the heart and soul of Padre Pio reveals the profound spirituality and humanity of the beloved Capuchin friar canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. Beyond the extraordinary events that accompanied Padre Pio's life--such as receiving the stigmata--these intimate letters attest to his personal struggles, concerns, temptations, and fears. The book consists of two parts, each with an introduction by a member of the Capuchins.