Related
Advertisements *
Elsewhere
Subscribe: RSS
RNB's RSS feed What is this? |
Subscribe: Email
![]() |
![]() Subscribe by Email What is this? |
Most Popular
- Wacky Cult Leader Beds Naked Virgins, Son’s Wife
- New Mexico Apocalyptic Church Leader Michael Travesser Arrested on Sex Charges
- Jail takes its toll on polygamist leader’s authority
- Pagan weddings attract more than a cult following
- Church recognizes Virgin Mary appearances in France
- Girl, 13, hangs herself after becoming obsessed with Emo ’suicide cult’ rock band
- Self-Described Messiah Arrested After State Removed Three Teens From N.M. Compound
- States divided on approach to polygamous sect
- Christianity without Christ
- Murder victim was anti-gay preacher
Faithful gather as remains of Stigmata Saint go on display
Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered this morning at the shrine of the Roman Catholic saint and mystic Padre Pio to be among the first to view his exhumed body.
More than a million people are expected to file past a glass casket holding his restored corpse between now and the end of the year. Catholic practices allow for the remains of saints to be exhumed, checked for their state of deterioration, and put on display as relics for veneration.
Padre Pio’s body is unusually central to the cult that surrounds him, and exceptionally controversial. For believers, the visible evidence of his sanctity were the stigmata - the wounds of Jesus on the cross - that first appeared in 1910.
But according to a book published last year, Padre Pio acquired carbolic acid from a local pharmacist that may have been used to create his wounds. His body was exhumed on March 3 and its condition has been variously described as “fair” and “almost intact”.
A team of biochemists and other experts has been working since then to get it into a fit state for display. An unanswered question to be resolved today is whether Padre Pio’s face will be covered by a wax mask sent from Madame Tussauds museum in London.
Reports from the vast church built to his memory at San Giovanni Rotondo near the Adriatic coast said at least 15,000 were expected to attend a service celebrated by the Vatican cardinal whose department oversees the making of saints.
Capuchin friars bustled to and fro, directing the faithful down one of three routes - one for the disabled, another marked green for those who had reserved, and a third marked red for those who had not. Italy’s public broadcasting service, RAI, was to transmit the mass live.
Though still known to millions of Catholics around the world simply as Padre Pio, the Capuchin friar was made a saint by the late Pope John Paul II. He was credited by his fellow friars with more than 1,000 miraculous cures and interventions.
But until his death in 1968, the church authorities remained deeply sceptical of the claims made on Padre Pio’s behalf. It was only the sheer momentum generated by his devotees that prompted a rethink.
Another adherent to the cult surrounding the mystic friar emerged this week. Carlo Ancelotti, the AC Milan coach, said he sometimes prayed to the saint from the bench.
Maria Stella Candela, who arrived in San Giovanni Rotondo from Trapani, Sicily, told the Ansa news agency: “My 37-year-old son is sick. He has a tumour. I pray - I have always prayed - to Padre Pio. And now I am here to pray some more.”
Share this
To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:
Article and Site Tools
» PermaLink to: Faithful gather as remains of Stigmata Saint go on display Need a shorter link? You can remove everything after the final / » More news articles + news archive on Catholic Church » More religion and cult news Subscribe (RSS / Email) [What is RSS?] » RSS News Feed - All Topics: Religion News Blog RSS Feed » RSS News Feed - Single Topic: Catholic Church » Headlines by Email: Daily Religion News Blog Headlines |
More Article Tools
Bookmark / Tag: Del.icio.us Bookmark / Tag: Furl Save this article Email this article Print this article [Temporarily out of order] More Information Books about Catholic Church Relevant books (and other goodies) |
About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.



