Following Padre Pio (Thoman)
Padre Pio was born in a rural, farming village. He entered a Franciscan order centered on harsh penance and radical poverty. He lived more than fifty years in a mountain hermitage. And yet, everyone has heard his name. But few know who Padre Pio truly was. In his latest work, Bret Thoman has pierced the life of Padre Pio in a novel way: through a pilgrimage to all eleven Capuchin friaries and sites where the stigmatic saint lived.
With Pietrelcina as his base, Thoman sets out each morning to the "Convents of Padre Pio." He accompanies the reader into these special places with captivating storytelling and detailed descriptions of what he encounters. He discovers that the cells where Padre Pio lived have been preserved with vintage furnishings to make them look exactly like they were when the saint was there in the early twentieth century. Further, each site has a small museum with relics and artefacts from his life. To bring these sites to life, there are over eighty color photographs included in this ebook edition.
The most captivating part of the journey, however, is the rich encounters the author has with the friars, sisters, and laypersons he meets along the way. Some knew Padre Pio personally. Their testimonies and stories beautifully inform the pages of this book.
The journey throughout the vast Province of Padre Pio was not easy. The author logged over 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) on his vehicle to reach the sites spread out across three southern Italian regions. Many are in remote mountain locations making them difficult to find and hard to reach. And yet, the difficulties of the journey are a reminder of the intense penances Padre Pio lived daily physically and spiritually in his body and soul – especially as relating to the wounds of Christ he bore in his hands, feet, and side. In this, Padre Pio shows us how to unite our sacrifices to the great sacrifice Christ made on the cross – and what it can lead to: “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Romans 6:8). This is the Paschal Mystery. And this is the heart of Padre Pio.
It is said that in order to know someone well, it is essential to visit the place where he or she grew up. The same is true with the saints. The sites associated with their lives tell their story. For those who will never be able to visit the friaries of Padre Pio personally, this book is like a pilgrimage that can be taken from one’s armchair at home. May God bless you as you make the journey.
Pages: 154
