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