Overview

• He was born Francesco Forgione in Pietrelcina in 1887, entered the Capuchin order in 1903, and was ordained a priest in 1910.
• In 1918 he reportedly bore the stigmata, a claim that drew both fervent devotion and periods of ecclesiastical scrutiny.
• Restrictions on his public ministry were later lifted, and Pope John Paul II canonized him as Saint Pío of Pietrelcina in 2002.
• He promoted the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza hospital at San Giovanni Rotondo, projected in 1940 and opened in 1956.
• September 23 also honors other saints, including Pope Saint Linus, Saint Thecla, and Saint André Fournet, as faithful mark the day with masses, processions, and prayers.