The relics of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap., commonly known as Padre Pio, are touring the United States and will be available for veneration on Friday, Sept. 27, at Christ the King, 8005 Dorset Dr. in Oklahoma City.
Doors open at 9 a.m. Priests of the archdiocese will be available for confessions from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Veneration will be suspended at 5:30 p.m. for Archbishop Coakley to celebrate Mass at 6 p.m.
During veneration, visitors will show reverence through prayer.
Available for veneration will include Padre Pio’s glove, cotton gauze bearing his blood stains, a lock of his hair, his handkerchief soaked with his sweat only hours before his death, and the cloak he wore. All relics except his mantle will be available for the faithful to touch.
Padre Pio was born May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, and became a priest in 1910. On Sept. 20, 1918, the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, appeared on his body, making him the first Catholic priest in the history of the Church to be stigmatized. In 1940, Padre Pio began working to develop a Home for the Relief of Suffering (the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza), which opened in 1956 on Mount Gargano.
Padre Pio, a mystic, was known for his gift of “reading souls” and spent many long hours hearing confessions. In his lifetime, one of his fellow friars claimed to witness Padre Pio levitating, and others reported that he bilocated – appearing in two different places at the same time – to lend comfort or support to people in dire need. He is said to have had gifts of healing and prophesy.
Padre Pio died in September 1968 at age 81 in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Thousands of mourners attended his funeral at Our Lady of Grace Church where his body was entombed. The Cause for Padre Pio’s canonization was opened in February 1973, and Saint John Paul II declared him “Venerable” in 1997. On June 16, 2002, Saint John Paul II proclaimed Padre Pio “Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.” Padre Pio is the patron saint of Italy, civil defense volunteers, adolescents and stress-relief.
Padre Pio national tour of relics www.saintpiofoundation.org
Oklahoma City ckokc.org/padre-pio