The intercession of Padre Pio, also known as St. Pio of Pietrelcina, one of the most well-known contemporary saints in the world, has allegedly worked numerous miracles throughout the years.
CNN EWTN Recently, In Depth Correspondent Mark Irons had the chance to speak with a number of individuals who had been influenced by Padre Pio’s legacy, including a lady who had had an astonishing recovery that led to the establishment of The National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania.
He was noted for possessing a range of supernatural abilities and was born in the southern Italian town of Pietrelcina as Francesco Forgione before adopting the name Padre Pio in the Franciscan order. One of these gifts was the stigmata, which is the impromptu emergence of scars on the body that resemble the crucifixion wounds of Christ. He also had the ability to bilocate, cure the ill, and read people’s hearts.
Despite the fact that knowledge of his gifts spread, Padre Pio was hardly recognized among American Catholics in the middle of the 20th century. However, this started to alter with the recovery of Vera Marie Calandra, a 2-year-old child who had faced a grim prognosis due to congenital urinary tract issues.
Even Dr. C. Everett Koop, a physician engaged in her treatment who would later go on to become the U.S. Surgeon General during the Reagan administration, believed she was close to death.
While Koop assisted in removing Calandra’s bladder to soothe her, he also gave her parents funeral planning advice. However, as Calandra herself said while retelling the tale to EWTN News In Depth, that day did not materialize.
Calandra said that “[Koop] stated, “You need… to come to terms with this now, you can’t cling on to this dying kid.” And when my mother returned home, she rejected it.
Calandra related how her mother, a devoted Catholic, read a book on Padre Pio that had been handed to her and had an inner voice telling her to take her daughter to Italy right away.
Calandra’s mother was able to quickly arrange for the trip and transport her daughter to Italy as they waited in a crowded hallway for the priest. Then, according to Calandra, Padre Pio drew near.
Calandra said, “And their eyes locked.” She then pledged to do a miracle so that everyone would believe. He took his gloved half-hand and removed the wound. She was able to kiss his hand when he placed it up in front of her face.
Calandra and her mother returned to the United States after Padre Pio blessed them and touched each of them individually on their heads.
Later, on a second X-ray with Koop, a remarkable finding was made: a bladder was discovered exactly where the first one had been removed.
Calandra said, “He could not explain it himself. And he simply said, “There is a “rudimentary… bladder,” adding, “Keep doing whatever you’re doing.”
While Padre Pio passed away shortly after Calandra’s recovery, her mother devoted the rest of her life to spreading awareness of the friar and giving thanks to him. As a result, she eventually constructed The National Centre for Padre Pio close to their Pennsylvania home with the goal of bringing souls to Christ.
The National Centre for Padre Pio’s executive director, Nick Gibboni, shared information on how the center’s purpose was carried out during Padre Pio’s time on earth.
People who would visit Padre Pio would “nearly throw themselves on Padre Pio,” according to Gibboni. In one of his most well-known quotations, he said, “No, you do not love Padre Pio because of Padre Pio, you love Padre Pio because I bring you to Jesus.
In the end, Gibboni underlined that Padre Pio’s main concern was bringing people to Christ via the Catholic Church; this legacy is carried on through the center’s work.