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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I went to see Padre Pio in 1948 because I was suffering from a bad illness. Terrible pain had immobilized my right arm. I could neither work nor sleep and the pain intensified when I tried to rest in bed. The remedies prescribed by my doctor were totally ineffective and I became desperate. I had a family to look after and I was at the point where I could do almost nothing. I lost my appetite and became weaker with each passing day.

A friend from Switzerland brought me a picture of Padre Pio and advised me to visit him at his monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo. It was a journey of more than 560 miles but I decided to make the trip. I took two friends with me who were also burdened with many problems. We knew almost nothing about Padre Pio but we decided to go anyway. On the trip, there was a mix up and because of it, we had to spend the night in San Marco in Lamis even though we were not intending to. That night, to my great surprise, I found that I was able to rest in bed. My companions were also very surprised at the improvement in my condition.

At the monastery of Our Lady of Grace, I was able to make my confession to Padre Pio. His words calmed me and at the end he said, “Go, for from me you have no more need of anything.” I kissed his hand and left the confessional and the emotion of that great experience stayed with me all day. On the trip back to my home, I found that I was able to carry my suitcase with no difficulty. When I arrived at my home, my arm was completely healed. I had no more pain and I had gained back all of my physical strength.

– Ida Giusti

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