25th Week of Ordinary Time C – Tuesday – Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Today, my brothers and sisters, we celebrate the beautiful memorial of Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Born in 1887 and baptized Francesco, he entered the Capuchin Franciscans at the young age of fifteen, taking the religious name Pio. He was ordained a priest in 1910 at the age of twenty-three, and in 1918, while praying before a crucifix, he received the stigmata—the visible wounds of Christ—making him the first priest in history to bear them so openly throughout most of his life. Padre Pio became known throughout the world for his extraordinary gifts: healing, bilocation, prophecy, reading souls in confession, and, above all, his profound love for the Mass and prayer.