23/09/2026
SAINT OF THE DAY: September 23
Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina
Francesco Forgione, known as Padre Pio, was born into a poor Italian farming family and entered the Capuchin Order at the age of sixteen, taking the name Brother Pio. Ordained a priest in 1910, he later served at Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo, where he devoted himself to celebrating Mass, hearing Confessions, and prayer. He humbly described himself as “a poor brother who prays” and believed prayer was the greatest weapon and a key to the heart of God. In 1948, he heard the Confession of a young Polish priest, Karol Wojtyła, who later became Pope John Paul II. Padre Pio bore the stigmata and accepted his sufferings as a way of sharing in Christ’s Passion.
Beyond his spiritual ministry, Padre Pio dedicated himself to easing human suffering. In 1956, he established the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (House for the Relief of Suffering), a hospital born from his desire to serve suffering families. He died on September 23, 1968, at the age of 81. Pope John Paul II canonized him on June 16, 2002, recognizing that his life demonstrated how difficulties and suffering, when accepted with love, can become a path toward holiness and a greater good according to God’s will.
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Let us pray:
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. Amen.
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