The visit of the Holy Relic and the unveiling of the shrine of St. Pio of Pietrelcina at St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in Bacong, Negros Oriental remind us that despite the strife and chaos happening in the world today, all will eventually be well if we hang on to our faith and spirituality.
As shared by the Rev. Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela, former parish priest of St. Augustine of Hippo Church, now parish priest of St. Nicholas de Labrador Parish in Dauin, Negros Oriental, the shrine remains a sign to all the world, the answer to all those who say, “Lord, give me a sign, that I may believe.”
St. Pio represented a point of contact with eternity in his life. All who knew him could see the Finger of God — he was a man of God, he was a prophet, a wonder worker, a Saint. People saw him and they saw the wounds of Jesus Christ, they witnessed his bi-locations, they found the innermost secrets of their souls revealed to them as they confessed to St. Pio.
Francesco, the name he was baptized with, was born in a small Italian village of Pietrelcina on May 25, 1887. Francesco was very devout even as a child, and at an early age he felt drawn to the priesthood. He became a Capuchin novice at the age of 16 and received the habit in 1902. Francesco was ordained to the priesthood in 1910 after seven years of study and became known as Padre Pio.
On September 20, 1918, Padre Pio collapsed in the chapel and was found to be bleeding profusely from five deep wounds in his hands, feet, and side. When he regained consciousness, he begged his fellow monks to keep the event secret, but word soon spread and people flocked to the monastery from all over the country to see the stigmata for themselves, and to confess their sins to this “living saint,” as he was referred to.
During the next few years, Padre Pio was forced to endure a series of medical investigations and attempted cures, none of which changed the character of the wounds.
The stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ crucified on his body, caused him great physical pain and more than that, great emotional pain. It meant that he was an object of curiosity and ridicule by some. He prayed for the physical marks to leave him, but for the pain to remain.
Each day, friars used to bind the wounds with fresh bandages and cover them with a mitten, a fingerless brown or black glove which he removed for Mass. The visible wounds appeared on his body in 1918 and for 50 years, they were a daily source of pain and embarrassment for him. Medical experts were at a loss as to why the wounds continued to bleed over the years. They began to disappear in the months prior to his death in September 1968.
Today, people find great consolation in the mitten of Padre Pio. There are many calls inquiring about the mitten or relics of Padre Pio and asking for them to be brought to hospitals or to those who are sick and in need.
The main pastoral outreach in hospitals today are the chaplains who are assigned there as part of their ministry. These are appointed by the diocesan bishop or the Church authority to the hospital administration. They are likewise trained and police vetted and, thus, lawfully provide for the spiritual and the sacramental need of the patients.
There will be further protocols in the care of sick children in particular. It is necessary and courteous for the hospital chaplain on call, day or night, to be asked if it is appropriate for an outsider to come to administer pastoral care to a patient, especially with relics of saints.
Be that as it may, if the act of doing so would relieve someone of the discomfort or anxiety of their ailment, then it could be granted to them. No one should question one’s faith and spiritual belief. It is all between you and your God. | NWI
