"I only want to be a poor friar who prays."

Today, the Church commemorates Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, known to most Catholics as "Padre Pio" -- so well by this name of endearment, in fact, that he is usually listed in English as "Saint Pio." After all, we've had twelve popes named Pius, and we're all so easily confused, aren't we?

Pio (let's humor ourselves and just call him that for now, okay?) was born in 1887 in the little Italian village of Pietrelcina. At 16, he joined the Capuchin Friars. At 23, he was ordained a priest.

At some point, he was discovered to bear the stigmata -- that is, the wounds on Christ on his hands and feet. Those few so called to this outward sign pay a price for it, and Pio suffered physical discomfort from the wounds throughout his life, and his bandages needed to be changed frequently. Between that, and his subsequent fame as a confessor and spiritual guide, the Holy See became concerned over all the fuss. As a result, he was virtually under house arrest for most of his fifty years at the monastery of San Giovanni Rotundo.

That did not stop the many thousands of pilgrims who sought him out to hear their confession. (As it was with the Curé of Ars, Pio would hear confessions from dawn until dusk, pausing only to celebrate Mass or for meals.) Nor did it stop him from bilocating (appearing to be in two places at once), according to some accounts.

He was known for being short on temperment and long on personal humility, attributed mostly to an awareness of his own sinfullness, combined with a priestly zeal for souls. At one point, a transfer was arranged for him. Pio refused to leave, citing the many souls who had come to depend on him. Pio stayed where he was.

He celebrated his last Mass on the 22nd of September, 1968. Seeing that his end was near, he called for a confrere to hear his last confession. As the doctor was called, he was heard to say softly to himself: "Jesus... Mary..."

He passed into eternity before dawn on the 23rd.

"In the months preceding his death, the wounds of the stigmata had begun to close, and had slowly stopped bleeding. As his body was being prepared for the wake, the friars and Dr. Sala observed that the lesions on his hands, feet and chest were now completely healed. The skin over the spots where the stigmata had been open and bleeding for fifty years, was now as smooth as a baby's, without even a trace of a scar. Deep, open wounds that had been bleeding for fifty years, had perfectly healed! Dr Sala concluded that this was a miracle in itself, and even greater than the stigmata, because it meant that dead tissue had been regenerated..."