On May 25, 1887, Francesco Forgione - St. Padre Pio - was born in Pietrelcina, Italy. He was a Franciscan priest, mystic, sometimes called a "Miracle Man", who manifested the Stigmata, the wounds of Christ.
He began to experience visions and ecstasies as a child. In 1918, he experienced the Stigmata with physical pain and the wounds visible on his hands and feet. He continued to experience the Stigmata for the next 50 years. Not only were the wounds visible, but blood also flowed from them. That blood reportedly had an odor like perfume or that of flowers. There are many pictures of him with the Stigmata.
As a priest he sometimes heard confessions for 12-15 hours a day. He reportedly could read the hearts of penitents, telling them about sins they had forgotten, or failed to confess. He also reportedly had the gift of bilocation, appearing in different places at the same time.
Just before he died September 23, 1968, the Stigmata disappeared.
Pax et bonum
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