Talking sense about the Mitten of St. Padre Pio

For some years following his ordination to the priesthood in August 1910, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina felt severe pains in the centre of his hands, his feet, and his side. While he kept the pains and the discomfort to himself, he did confide in his spiritual director about all supernatural matters occurring in his life. 

In September 1918 while at prayer before the cross in the choir (or chapel) of the friars in the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, he became aware that his hands and feet were bleeding and also a wound had developed in his side, and this too was bleeding heavily. The friars came to his assistance and the wounds were covered and cleaned, and creams applied and covered with bandages. The trouble was the wounds didn’t heal and fresh blood came from them every day and especially on Fridays. Seven hundred years before, St. Francis of Assisi had the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ crucified in his hands, feet, and side. 

Deep down, Padre Pio knew that these wounds or ‘stigmata’ were a game-changer in his life and among the friars and those who he ministered to. Now, he was not going to be able to hide and now he would surely be an object of curiosity. Over the years, there were formal investigations into the phenomena and during the 1930’s, the superiors of the Capuchin Order, on the advice of the Congregations for Religious in Rome asked that he step aside from ministry. In these years, he could not say Mass publicly or hear confessions. 

Following the permission of his superiors, when he could resume public ministry, he wore brown fingerless mittens on his hands which covered bandages to keep the wounds clean. Even though the wounds never dried up, the flesh around them was clean and bright and the blood emitted a fresh almost perfumed fragrance. Sometimes the scent was very powerful and smelt of roses, or fresh flowers. 

Padre Pio never removed the mittens except on the altar when offering Mass each day. The friars who assisted him dressed his wounds daily with clean bandages and gave him fresh mittens to wear. This process was repeated daily until the autumn of 1968 when it was noticed the wounds began to heal and fresh skin formed around the area where the wounds were. Padre Pio died late into the night of the 22^nd of September 1968. 

As Catholics, we have had an ancient tradition of the veneration of saint’s relics. From the early Church; relics, medals, and pieces of cloth associated with a saint have been kept in churches. This practice can be viewed as quaint, or downright silly by some. I’ve met people who are even completely put off by this pious practice. However, for many people, the veneration of the relic of a saint can connect us to the Divine. In the secular world, many people love to own or treasure the jersey of their favourite sports star or the musical instrument or tour jacket of their favourite rock star. I remember the fuss when one of the Rhinestone Jackets of Elvis Presley was brought onto the Late-Late Show on RTE Television and it was handled by special velvet gloves so as not to dirty or damage it, such was its value.

Over the years since his death, people have desired to venerate items that Padre Pio blessed, or owned. No matter what piece of cloth or medal that was touched off the saint, to venerate and be blessed by one of the brown fingerless mittens is a great consolation for so many people. People will go to great lengths and travel far and wide to be blessed with ‘the glove’.

In the Irish Office for Padre Pio at the Capuchin Friary, Church St, Dublin 7, we have some of the mittens that Padre Pio wore, They were given over the years by capuchin friars like Fr. Alessio Parente, and Fr. Gerardo Di Flumeri who assisted him and knew him personally in the Friary of San Giovanni Rotondo. As best we can, we can arrange for one of them to be brought to bless sick people at home or in hospital which is a source of consolation to the patient and their families. Please remember that it is crucial that the patient needs to agree to this blessing, and it is very important that next-of-kin also agrees. It is especially important that this is allowed by the nurse-in-charge and chaplaincy/pastoral care and within the hospital visiting hours and not while there are visiting restrictions. In the case of sick children, extra arrangements will need to be made. Parents/guardians will need to give permission. 

The relics of saints and the mitten of St. Padre Pio do not have curative powers. There is no material in the glove that heals people. Nor is there a guarantee that any sick person will get better the moment they are blessed by the glove. In most cases, patients in hospital get better thanks to the care of the nursing, medical, and care staff and thanks to treatment and medication. The blessing with the mitten of Padre Pio can offer consolation to a sick person and it helps us to focus on the fact that Padre Pio will always pray for that person and all who are sick. He was someone who had a special love for the sick and suffering in his life.

There is no doubt that from time to time there have been unexplained healings and even miraculous healings through the blessings with the relic of a saint and St. Padre Pio. These have been well documented over the years. It is the faith of the people which helps greatly in the belief that a person will be healed sometimes against the odds. I believe that prayer and faith can be integral to the care of the patient in hospital, because one part of the outreach to the patient in hospital comes from the chaplaincy/pastoral care team. 

In the Irish Office for Padre Pio, now located in Capuchin Friary, Church St, we are in the process of updating the lists of the people around the country who have access to a relic of St. Padre Pio or a mitten he wore. I myself have been invited to travel to some Churches to join with Padre Pio prayer groups and people will come along in great numbers to be blessed by the mitten. Please note, I am a full-time parish priest and within reason, I can’t commit to attending these prayer groups countrywide regularly but within this I will do my best. 

Padre Pio is a saint for our time. He died in 1968 and was canonized saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, now himself a saint. We can hear his voice in recording, we have movie footage of him, and we have colour photographs of him. As I have said, we have relics and medals of his and some mittens for veneration. The National Shrine of St. Padre Pio is in the Capuchin Friary, Church St, Dublin 7 where there is a first-class relic of the saint set into the shrine. While we make every effort to make the relics available, people seem to favour the mitten above all else. Padre Pio was never a mean-spirited man in life and therefore if a person can’t venerate one of the mittens he wore, it doesn’t mean you only get half a blessing or a partial favour. And remember, it is not Padre Pio who is the healer, it is Jesus Christ who is the healer. Receiving the Sacraments is the most powerful of all blessings and Padre Pio spent his whole life witnessing to this. 

Fr. Bryan Shortall ofm.cap. National Director of the Padre Pio Apostolate.