Publisher's Synopsis
Born in poverty-stricken southern Italy in 1887, Francesco Forgione manifested spiritual gifts from God as early as age five when he began to have visions of his guardian angel, Mary, and Jesus. After Francesco's ordination in 1910, he was known as Padre Pio, and his holiness impressed his fellow friars and drew thousands of "spiritual children" to him. The Padre counseled, encouraged, and often healed the millions of pilgrims from all over the world who climbed the mountain to reach the friary of Our Lady of Grace where St. Pio ministered to all who came to him. Though Padre Pio received many spiritual gifts from God-including bilocation (the ability to be in more than one place at a time), prophecy, stigmata (the five bleeding wounds of Christ Crucified), aroma of paradise, healing, counseling, reading of souls, levitation, and conversion-what impressed people the most about him was the love, humility, and holiness that characterized his entire eighty-one years. But throughout his priesthood, Padre Pio-our "Poor Pio"-desired only one thing: to be known as "the friar who prays."
