39. They want to move Padre Pio
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| A tall illuminated cross welcomes you to Padre Pio’s Sanctuary |
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The ‘offending’ church that can
accommodate thousands, is frowned upon
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Voices were buzzing around on TV yesterday that they want to move Padre Pio from the tomb where he is resting in the original church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. And there was a hue and cry that the Saint should be left to rest where he is under his marble lid- and would you know it, I don’t even have a photo of that- at that precise moment when I found myself in front of the tomb, my camera was blocked- I knew instantly it was Padre Pio up to his old tricks again of which I shall explain herewith.
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Photo:The Stations of the Cross are constructed
on a hill- reminiscent of Cavalry
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I have photos of the old church and the new ‘offending’ church, described so because no one wants Padre Pio to be moved there, of the town, that is San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia (on the opposite side of the boot to Naples), of the hotels, of the pilgrims of the outdoor Stations of the Cross placed on a hill, a reminiscence of Cavalry, of the museum where all Padre Pio’s things are kept and the letters… among which, one, is mine.
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| Photo: Letters, one of which was mine |
As soon as we arrived at the square of the sanctuary, I left the rest of the pilgrims and went off on my own in search of my letter…
I can’t remember how many offices I went through nor for how long I stood in queues but I was determine
d to find my letter, even photograph taking took second place.
At the information desk they told me that they do not keep any of the letters in San Giovanni except the ones stacked in the glass cases in a room in the museum which where the entire number of one year, that of 1958 which was not my case since I had sent mine in August 1968 just before entering the Novitiate in Broadstairs, Kent.
Maybe I should try their newspaper’s offices, the Friar suggested, as they dealt with letters that verified Padre Pio’s authenticity in the process for Beatification.
So over I went and again waited and waited until the editor called me in. He asked me to explain exactly what my letter was about. So I told him that I wanted to know if I had a calling to the Religious Life, “Because at that time,” I said I was disenchanted with the world and wanted to know if there was anything else?” He looked at me as if I was a housewife in a supermarket looking for a special brand of soap powder. So as not to give him the chance to dismiss me without a fair hearing I said, “But he replied… Padre Pio replied.”
“And…” he said impatiently.
“He said I was going to have a tough time throughout my life… he wasn’t at all nice…”
“Was that all?”
I had to stop seeking my own will…” I paused recalling the same words said to me by the Principal of the teacher’s training college I was attending, who herself was a nun. But she had said it with the complete opposite intention that Padre Pio had said it. I had wanted to be a teacher at the time and the Principal said I had another vocation and I should stop seeking my own will, I was not meant to be a teacher. The man kept urging me to continue.
“Padre Pio wrote I would never become a nun, that I did not have a vocation… just like that, quite straight forward. However, he told me to say a lot of prayers and seek not my own but God’s will and that after much suffering I would find what I was looking for.”
“Hum…” the editor muttered.
“But that was not all… Padre Pio said to destroy that letter immediately after I had read it.”
“And did you…?”
“Of course not… How can one destroy a letter from Padre Pio… I took absolutely no notice of what he had said and put it safely in my overall pocket.” A wry smile crept across the man’s lips. “Neither did I take any notice of his advice of not becoming a nun…”
“Well what happened? Obviously you are not a nun…” I looked at him and smiled,
“It’s a long story…”
The man told me that I would have to go to the Main Monastery a few miles from there where the archives are kept to see if they can trace my letter but he suggested I give up- the enterprise would be quite a feat.
It wasn’t the news I expected, however I left without telling him that in spite of all my efforts to safeguard the letter Padre Pio had sent me, when I next put my hand inside my overall pocket- it had simply disappeared. That’s why when I got to the Saint’s tomb and my camera didn’t click, I knew Padre Pio was up to his old tricks again!
d to find my letter, even photograph taking took second place.At the information desk they told me that they do not keep any of the letters in San Giovanni except the ones stacked in the glass cases in a room in the museum which where the entire number of one year, that of 1958 which was not my case since I had sent mine in August 1968 just before entering the Novitiate in Broadstairs, Kent.
Maybe I should try their newspaper’s offices, the Friar suggested, as they dealt with letters that verified Padre Pio’s authenticity in the process for Beatification.
So over I went and again waited and waited until the editor called me in. He asked me to explain exactly what my letter was about. So I told him that I wanted to know if I had a calling to the Religious Life, “Because at that time,” I said I was disenchanted with the world and wanted to know if there was anything else?” He looked at me as if I was a housewife in a supermarket looking for a special brand of soap powder. So as not to give him the chance to dismiss me without a fair hearing I said, “But he replied… Padre Pio replied.”
“And…” he said impatiently.
“He said I was going to have a tough time throughout my life… he wasn’t at all nice…”
“Was that all?”
I had to stop seeking my own will…” I paused recalling the same words said to me by the Principal of the teacher’s training college I was attending, who herself was a nun. But she had said it with the complete opposite intention that Padre Pio had said it. I had wanted to be a teacher at the time and the Principal said I had another vocation and I should stop seeking my own will, I was not meant to be a teacher. The man kept urging me to continue.
“Padre Pio wrote I would never become a nun, that I did not have a vocation… just like that, quite straight forward. However, he told me to say a lot of prayers and seek not my own but God’s will and that after much suffering I would find what I was looking for.”
“Hum…” the editor muttered.
“But that was not all… Padre Pio said to destroy that letter immediately after I had read it.”
“And did you…?”
“Of course not… How can one destroy a letter from Padre Pio… I took absolutely no notice of what he had said and put it safely in my overall pocket.” A wry smile crept across the man’s lips. “Neither did I take any notice of his advice of not becoming a nun…”
“Well what happened? Obviously you are not a nun…” I looked at him and smiled,
“It’s a long story…”
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The corridor leading to Padre Pio’s tomb
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It wasn’t the news I expected, however I left without telling him that in spite of all my efforts to safeguard the letter Padre Pio had sent me, when I next put my hand inside my overall pocket- it had simply disappeared. That’s why when I got to the Saint’s tomb and my camera didn’t click, I knew Padre Pio was up to his old tricks again!
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| Padre Pio's hospital |
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