There is no doubt about it but the level of devotion to the relics of St. Pio is very high. Relics are a way to tangibly connect with the saint which helps us to focus in on the fact that they were real, they lived a human life, and they are accessible. From the sacred to the secular, many people are interested in being proximate to someone famous or holy through a relic or a something they owned. I remember some years ago on the Late Late Show, they brought one of Elvis Presley’s Rhinestone Jump suits into the studio in a type of glass tank. The presenter was only allowed to touch it provided he donned two red velvet gloves, and it was so precious that it didn’t stay long as the studio lights were deemed too strong for it to be exposed under them but the interest among the audience was huge.
Padre Pio
was someone who drew millions over the years because he had a direct line to
God. It is well known that he possessed exceptional gifts like the ability to
be in two places at once, the power to read souls, the ability to be able to
see things before they happened, and he saw the supernatural and regularly met
with the Guardian Angels. However, he couldn’t just turn this off and on.
Sometimes he could see nothing as unless it was revealed to him, it wasn’t
going to happen. But it was the stigmata, the bleeding wounds of Christ
crucified on his hands, feet, and side that intrigued people the most. He
disliked this ‘gift’ as it was these wounds that made him an object of
curiosity and they had people crowding around him day after day. To protect the
bleeding, he wore bandages and fingerless brown mittens on each hand. The
friars changed the mittens each day and Padre Pio was given a fresh pair each morning
and they kept the many worn ones as relics which we have today.
Of all
the relics of Padre Pio, the mitten is the one that attracts people the most.
For others, especially those who dislike this kind of devotion, it completely
puts them off and they see it as a kind of madness perhaps.
Over the
years, I have heard of many instances where people have received favours,
healings, and consolation from praying with or a blessing via the Padre Pio
mitten. I am busy each day answering emails, messages on social media, text messages,
and phone calls asking for me to bring the mitten to hospitals or the homes of
someone sick or in difficulty. There is tremendous faith in the prayers of
Padre Pio. Brother Laurence Speight who died in 1998 and who promoted the cause
of Padre Pio used to get fulsome thanks
for his ministry with the mitten of Padre Pio but he would always say; “It’s
not me, it’s their faith.”
But what
happens if it doesn’t work out? I am also aware that for some the healing
wasn’t to be. There are no guarantees unfortunately and Padre Pio always said
that sometimes there may be no healing or solution on this earth. He would
always call people to pray. “Pray, pray, pray.” We are continually called to
faith. It is faith that opens the door to healing and it strengthens us. And of
course Padre Pio is only the conduit if you like. Jesus is the healer, and it
is to Him that Padre Pio always points.