The essentials of sainthood

Controversy shadowed the life of the mystical Padre Pio, as Pius of Pietrelcina was known. He was said to bear the stigmata, or wounds of Christ, though detractors claimed he manufactured the wounds with carbolic acid. However one views such claims and counter claims, the undeniable fact is that he was a compassionate counselor to the thousands who came to see him during his lifetime, a tireless servant who lived a simple life. At Padre Pio’s canonization Mass in 2002, Saint John Paul II said: “The life and mission of Padre Pio testify that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted with love, transform themselves into a privileged journey of holiness, which opens the person toward a greater good, known only to the Lord.” You don’t have to be a mystic or stigmatist to mirror the ministry of Christ in your own life—all you need is a kind heart and generous spirit. MEMORIAL OF PIUS OF PIETRELCINA, PRIEST