St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Feast day: September 23
Born in the Italian farming village of Pietrelcina, Francesco Forgione entered the Capuchin Friars at 15, taking the name of Pio. He was ordained a priest in 1910. Eight years later, wounds of Our Lord’s passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. Thousands flocked to him to seek his counsel and give him their confessions. He never wavered in his prayer life despite his physical suffering, and he had a special devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002.
Prayer
Almighty ever-living God, who, by a singular grace,
gave the Priest Saint Pius a share in the Cross of your Son
and, by means of his ministry,
renewed the wonders of your mercy,
grant that through his intercession
we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ,
and so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
