Who was Padre Pio?
How do we comprehend a man of so much mystery? How could a single person have so many gifts? There are saints who have been known for healing; there are saints who could “read” souls; there are saints who were known for levitation; there were saints who bore the stigmata, or were seen in apparition, or had the “odor of sanctity.” There are saints who could understand languages they didn’t know. But Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who died in 1968 and will be canonized Sunday in a huge, historic ceremony, had all these charisms — and more. In fact, no saint in history, with the possible exception of St. Francis, had more in the way of mysticism. It seemed there are no charisms he didn’t possess. This was a man who was a mystery to everyone he ever met and a mystery even to himself. To this day, we still don’t understand how a single person could pack such potency — nor what this implies. Who was he? Why did one man have such potency? We know only that he has been a fantastic intercessor —
