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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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