Saint Who?
Saints Who Could Read Souls
Saint Pius of Pietrelcina
Priest and religious († 1968) Feast: September 23
“Act in such a way that the sad sight of human injustice may not trouble your soul…. One day you will see the unfailing triumph of God’s justice arise.” Francesco Forgione, born in 1887 near Naples, was described by a childhood friend as meek and quiet, an “unsalted piece of macaroni.” He became a Capuchin priest, and as Padre Pio he became known as a fountain of miracles, with a particularly remarkable ability to read hearts.
He saw things in the light of God and could speak the truth with peasant bluntness. One penitent recalled describing what seemed a terrible injustice. “Put up with it!” he told her. “It will become light.” On another occasion a man who had left wife and children for another woman came to Padre Pio and feigned confession. He wanted consolation, having just lost his teenage son. Omitting the story of his sinful life, he described his loss.
“And that’s not enough for you?” Pio asked sternly. “My entire life with all its errors stood before me,” the man recalled, and he told Pio, “Yes.” “What are you waiting for?” Pio said. Then the man made a true confession, and left in joy, despite his grief. As he told his companions, “I’m going back…to my wife, to my daughter…with a serene heart.” Padre Pio was canonized in 2002.
Merciful and just Father, through the prayers of
Padre Pio, deliver me from false comforts
and help me welcome true healing.
