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WPCNR THE FAITHFUL JOURNEY. From The Saint Pio Foundation September 16, 2020:
The Relics of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina – better known as Padre Pio – will be visiting the Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, NY, on Sunday, September 29, 2020, from 9 am to 2:30 pm. Churches throughout the Archdiocese of New York and neighboring dioceses have organized pilgrimages to the Parish for this rare opportunity to venerate the relics of Padre Pio.
The series of events include conferences on the life of Padre Pio from 11 am to 1 pm, a mass in honor of Saint Pio at 3: pm, and a benefit concert at 4:30 pm with special guest star Alumnus of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” actor, musician, comedian, writer and radio show host Joe Piscopo.
An exclusive and authentic four-course dinner of authentic recipes of Italy’s Puglia region where both he and Padre Pio were born and raised will be offered at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center, in Tuckahoe, NY, immediately after the concert.
Attendance at all the events is limited due to COVID 19 restrictions. Guests’ temperatures will be checked before entering the premises and will be required to wear face masks. Hand sanitizers will be available to all guests before venerating the relics. A reservation will be required to enter the premises, and those without a reservation will not be permitted to enter.For more info and to make a reservation, please, visit https://www.saintpiofoundation.org/celebratepadrepio
The last stop of this year, it follows the last two years sensational and headline-making tours that attracted an estimated of more than 500,000 faithfuls all over the country. In addition, some of the most important media covered this event, including FOX NEWS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, to mention just a few.
Saint Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, and baptized Francesco Forgione. He first expressed his desire for priesthood at age 10. In order to pay for the preparatory education, his father, Grazio Forgione, emigrated to the United States in 1899, where he worked for several years.
The future saint entered the Capuchin order at age 15, taking the name Pio. He was ordained a priest in 1910 at the age of 23. During his lifetime, Padre Pio was known as a mystic with miraculous powers of healing and knowledge, who bore the stigmata. Stigmata is the term the Catholic Church uses to speak about the wounds an individual receives that correspond to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. They can appear on the forehead, hands, wrists, and feet.
His stigmata emerged during World War I, after Pope Benedict XV asked Christians to pray for an end to the conflict. Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ pierced his side. They remained with him until his death on September 23, 1968.
Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2002.
The relics of Saint Pio available for public veneration will be the following (here on the picture): Saint Pio’s glove; Saint Pio’s crusts of the wounds; Cotton-gauze with Saint Pio’s blood stains; A lock of Saint Pio’s hair; Saint Pio’s mantle; Saint Pio’s handkerchief soaked with his sweat hours before he died;
ABOUT THE RELICS
In the Catholic Church, relics are physical objects associated with a saint or candidate for sainthood – part of the person’s body or something with which he or she was in contact. Relics are not worshiped but treated with religious respect. Touching or praying in the presence of such an object helps a faithful individual focus on the saint’s life and virtues, so that through the saint’s prayer or intercession before God, the individual will be drawn closer to God.
ABOUT THE SAINT PIO FOUNDATION
The Saint Pio Foundation is a premier national charitable organization that promotes awareness of Saint Pio and his mission by working with institutions and individuals who agree to use their influence to advance the public’s knowledge of the legacy and importance of Saint Pio. More information about Saint Pio Foundation can be found at www.saintpiofoundation.org