Renzo Piano
Piano in 2007
Born	(1937-09-14) 14 September 1937 (age 74) Genoa, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Alma mater	Politecnico di Milano
Awards	Pritzker Architecture Prize AIA Gold Medal Sonning Prize Royal Gold Medal Kyoto Prize
Work
Practice	Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Buildings	Centre Georges Pompidou Parco della Musica Shard London Bridge

Nemo Science Centre in Amsterdam. The shape reflects the tunnel entrance it is built on

The Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences, a museum and research facility in San Francisco, California

Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)

Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)

Renzo Piano, Ufficiale OMRI (born 14 September 1937 in Genoa) is an Italian Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff said of Piano's works that the "...serenity of his best buildings can almost make you believe that we live in a civilized world."^[1]

In 2006, Piano was selected by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.^[2] He was selected as the 10th most influential person in the "Arts and Entertainment" category of the 2006 Time 100.

Biography[link]

Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 into a family of builders. He was educated and subsequently taught at the Politecnico di Milano. He graduated from the University in 1964 and began working with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters.^[3] From 1965 to 1970 he worked with Louis Kahn and Z.S. Makowsky. He worked together with Richard Rogers from 1971 to 1977; their most famous joint project is the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1977). He also had a long collaboration with the engineer Peter Rice, with whom he shared a practice (L'Atelier Piano and Rice) between 1977 and 1981.

In 1981, Piano founded the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, which today employs 150 people and maintains offices in Paris, Genoa, and New York.^[4]

In 1999, Piano designed a watch entitled "Jelly Piano (GZ159)" for the Swatch Summer Collection. The watch design is clear and the exposed inner workings were influenced by his Centre Georges Pompidou design.^[5]

On 18 March 2008, he became an honorary citizen of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[6]

Piano's recent expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago includes a 264,000-square-foot (24,500 m²) wing with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of gallery space^[7] called the Modern Wing, which opened on 16 May 2009.^[1][8] It includes a "flying carpet", a sunscreen that hovers above the roof and a 620-foot (190 m) steel bridge connecting Millennium Park to a sculpture terrace that leads into a restaurant on the wing’s third floor.^[9]

Select projects[link]

Current[link]

• ARS AEVI Museum of Contemporary Art^[10] in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999–)^[11]
• Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway (2002–)^[12]
• Centro de Arte Botín, Santander, Spain (2011–)
• City Gate, Royal Opera House, Parliament of Malta, and Freedom Square, Valletta, Malta (2009–)
• Columbia University Manhattanville Campus Master Plan and Jerome L. Greene Science Center, New York, New York (2004–)
• Harvard Art Museums expansion and renovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2009–)
• Kimbell Art Museum expansion, Fort Worth, Texas (2008–)
• KT Corporation headquarters, Seoul, South Korea (2011–)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California (2003–)
• Pathé Foundation headquarters, Paris, France (2006–)
• Renzo Piano Tower I & II, San Francisco, California (2006–)
• Sesto San Giovanni masterplan, Milan, Italy (2004–)
• Shard London Bridge, London, England (2000–)^[13]
• Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens, Greece (2008–)
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (2005–)

Completed[link]

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum wing, Boston, Massachusetts (2005–2012)
• Central Saint Giles, London, England (2010)
• Modern Wing expansion of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• Nichols Bridgeway, Chicago, Illinois (2009)
• California Academy of Sciences rebuilding, San Francisco, California (2008)
• Vulcano Buono, Nola, Italy (2007)
• The New York Times Building, New York, New York (2003–2007)
• Rocca di Frassinello Winery, Gavorrano, Italy (2002–2007)
• Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland (1999–2005)
• The Morgan Library & Museum expansion, New York, New York (2003–2006)
• Cité Internationale, Lyon, France (1995–2006)
• Weltstadthaus, Cologne, Germany (2005)
• High Museum of Art Expansion, Atlanta, Georgia (2005)
• Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (2004)
• Il Sole 24 Ore headquarters, Milan, Italy (1998–2004)
• Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas (1999–2003)
• Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy (2002)
• Maison Hermès, Tokyo, Japan (2001)
• Auditorium Paganini, Parma, Italy (2001)
• Aurora Place, Sydney, Australia (1996–2000)
• Potsdamer Platz master plan, Berlin, Germany (1992–2000)
• Ferrari wind tunnel, Maranello, Italy (1996–1998)
• Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, Nouméa, New Caledonia (1991–1998)
• Ushibuka Haiya Bridge, Amakusa, Japan (1991–1997)
• Beyeler Foundation Museum, Basel, Switzerland (1991–1997)
• NEMO science museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1997)
• Cy Twombly Gallery, Houston, Texas (1995)
• International Terminal, Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan (1991–1994)
• Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy (1988–1989)
• Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (1982–1987)
• Banca CIS building, Cagliari, Sardinia (1985)
• IBM Travelling Pavilion, (1982–1984)
• IRCAM & the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (1971–1977)

Cancelled[link]

• City Tech Tower, New York, New York
• Trans National Place, Boston, Massachusetts

Awards[link]

Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, 24 March 1990^[14]
Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art, 28 March 1994^[14]

• In 1989, Piano was the recipient of the Royal Gold Medal.
• In 1990, Piano was the recipient of the Kyoto Prize.
• In 1998, Piano was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.
• In 2008, Piano was the recipient of the Sonning Prize.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Renzo Piano

• Official website
• Pritzker Architecture Prize biography
• Profile at GreatBuildings.com

Georges Pompidou
President of France Co-Prince of Andorra
In office 20 June 1969 – 2 April 1974
Prime Minister	Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre Messmer
Preceded by	Alain Poher (Acting)
Succeeded by	Alain Poher (Acting)
Prime Minister of France
In office 14 April 1962 – 10 July 1968
President	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	Michel Debré
Succeeded by	Maurice Couve de Murville
Personal details
Born	(1911-07-05)5 July 1911 Montboudif, France
Died	2 April 1974(1974-04-02) (aged 62) Paris, France
Political party	Union for the New Republic (Before 1968) Union of Democrats for the Republic (1968–1974)
Spouse(s)	Claude Cahour
Alma mater	Superior Normal School, Paris Free School of Political Studies

Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ pɔ̃pidu]; 5 July 1911 – 2 April 1974) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.

Biography[link]

He was born in the commune of Montboudif, in the department of Cantal in central France.^[1] After his khâgne at Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where he befriended Senegalese future poet and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor, he graduated from the École Normale Supérieure with a degree of Agrégation in literature.

He first taught literature at the lycée Henri IV in Paris until hired in 1953 by Guy de Rothschild to work at Rothschild. In 1956, he was appointed the bank's general manager, a position he held until 1962. Later, he was hired by Charles de Gaulle to manage the Anne de Gaulle Foundation for Down's Syndrome (de Gaulle's daughter Anne had Down's Syndrome).

Prime Minister[link]

He served as prime minister under de Gaulle after Michel Debré resigned, from 16 April 1962 to 21 July 1968, and to this day is the longest serving French prime minister under the Fifth Republic. His nomination was controversial because he was not a member of the National Assembly. In October 1962, he was defeated by a vote of non-confidence, but de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly. The Gaullists won the legislative election and Pompidou was reappointed as Prime Minister. In 1964, he was faced with a miners' strike. He led the 1967 legislative campaign of the Union of Democrats for the Fifth Republic to a narrow victory. Pompidou was widely regarded as being responsible for the peaceful resolution of the student uprising of May 1968. His strategy was to break the coalition of students and workers by negotiating with the trade-unions and employers (Grenelle conference). Until this crisis, he was the Prime Minister of a quiet and prosperous France.

However, during the events of May 1968, disagreements arose between Pompidou and de Gaulle. Pompidou did not understand why the President did not inform him of his departure to Baden-Baden on 29 May. Their relationship, until then very good, would be strained from then on. Pompidou led and won the 1968 legislative campaign, leading to a tremendous victory of the Gaullist Party, then resigned. Nevertheless, in part due to his actions during the May 1968 crisis, he appeared as the natural successor to de Gaulle. Pompidou announced his candidature for the Presidency in January 1969. Some weeks later, his wife's name was mentioned in the Markovic scandal, thus appearing to confirm her husband's status as a cuckold. Pompidou was certain that de Gaulle's inner circle was responsible for this smear.

President[link]

After the failure of the 1969 referendum, de Gaulle resigned and Pompidou was elected president of France.^[2] In the general election of 15 June 1969, he defeated the centrist President of the Senate and Acting President Alain Poher by a wide margin (57%–42%).^[3] Though a Gaullist, Pompidou was more pragmatic than de Gaulle, notably facilitating the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Community on 1st January 1973. He embarked on an industrialisation plan and initiated the Arianespace project, as well as the TGV project, and furthered the French civilian nuclear programme. He was sceptical about the "New Society" programme of his prime minister, Jacques Chaban-Delmas. In 1972, Chaban-Delmas was replaced by Pierre Messmer, a more conservative Gaullist.

While the left-wing opposition organised itself in proposing a Common Programme before the 1973 legislative election, Pompidou widened out his "presidential majority" by including the Centrist pro-European parties.

Pompidou's time in office was marked by constant efforts to modernise France's capital city. This can be seen through his construction of a modern art museum, the Centre Beaubourg (renamed Centre Pompidou after his death), on the edge of the Marais area of Paris. Other attempts at modernisation included tearing down the open air markets at Les Halles and replacing it with the shopping mall of the same name, building the Montparnasse Tower, and constructing an expressway on the right bank of the Seine.

• 

  Pompidou with U.S. president Richard Nixon in Reykjavík, 31 May 1973.

• 

  Pompidou with West German chancellor Willy Brandt in Cologne, 3 July 1972.

Death in office[link]

While still in office, Pompidou died unexpectedly on 2 April 1974, 9 PM,^[4] from Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

Pompidou's wife Claude Pompidou lived more than thirty years past his death. The couple had one foster son, Alain Pompidou, former president of the European Patent Office.

Works[link]

• Anthologie de la Poésie Française, Livre de Poche/Hachette, 1961
• Le Nœud gordien, éd. Plon, 1974
• Entretiens et discours, deux vol., éd. Plon, 1975
• Pour rétablir une vérité, éd. Flammarion, 1982

Ministries[link]

Quotations[link]

• "There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians."^[5]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Georges Pompidou

• Centre Georges Pompidou

References[link]

v t e Republican heads of state of France Styled President of the Republic after 1871, except from 1940–44 (Chief of State) and 1944–47 (Chairman of the Provisional Government) First Republic (1792–1804) National Convention Directory Consulate Second Republic (1848–1852) Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure Executive Commission Louis-Eugène Cavaignac Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte Government of National Defence (1870–1871) Louis Jules Trochu Third Republic (1871–1940) Adolphe Thiers Patrice de Mac-Mahon Jules Armand Dufaure Jules Grévy Maurice Rouvier Sadi Carnot Charles Dupuy Jean Casimir-Perier Charles Dupuy Félix Faure Charles Dupuy Émile Loubet Armand Fallières Raymond Poincaré Paul Deschanel Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand Frédéric François-Marsal Gaston Doumergue Paul Doumer André Tardieu Albert Lebrun Vichy France (1940–1944) Philippe Pétain Provisional Government (1944–1947) Charles de Gaulle Félix Gouin Georges Bidault Vincent Auriol Léon Blum Fourth Republic (1947–1959) Vincent Auriol René Coty Fifth Republic (since 1959) Charles de Gaulle Alain Poher Georges Pompidou Alain Poher Valéry Giscard d'Estaing François Mitterrand Jacques Chirac Nicolas Sarkozy François Hollande Italics indicate interim officeholder

v t e Heads of government of France Restoration Talleyrand Richelieu Dessolles Decazes Richelieu Villèle Martignac Polignac July Monarchy V. de Broglie Laffitte Perier Soult Gérard Maret Mortier V. de Broglie Thiers Molé Soult Thiers Soult Guizot Molé Second Republic Dupont de l'Eure Arago Cavaignac Barrot Hautpoul Faucher Second Empire Ollivier Cousin-Montauban Interregnum Trochu Third Republic Dufaure A. de Broglie Cissey Buffet Dufaure Simon A. de Broglie Rochebouët Dufaure Waddington Freycinet Ferry Gambetta Freycinet Duclerc Fallières Ferry Brisson Freycinet Goblet Rouvier Floquet Tirard Freycinet Loubet Ribot Dupuy Casimir-Perier Dupuy Ribot Bourgeois Méline Brisson Dupuy Waldeck-Rousseau Combes Rouvier Sarrien Clemenceau Briand Monis Caillaux Poincaré Briand Barthou Doumergue Ribot Viviani Briand Ribot Painlevé Clemenceau Millerand Leygues Briand Poincaré François-Marsal Herriot Painlevé Briand Herriot Poincaré Briand Tardieu Chautemps Tardieu Steeg Laval Tardieu Herriot Paul-Boncour Daladier Sarraut Chautemps Daladier Doumergue Flandin Bouisson Laval Sarraut Blum Chautemps Blum Daladier Reynaud Pétain Vichy France Pétain Laval Brinon Provisional Government de Gaulle Gouin Bidault Auriol Blum Fourth Republic Ramadier Schuman Marie Schuman Queuille Bidault Queuille Pleven Queuille Pleven Faure Pinay Mayer Laniel Mendès France Faure Mollet Bourgès-Maunoury Gaillard Pflimlin de Gaulle Fifth Republic de Gaulle Debré Pompidou Couve de Murville Chaban-Delmas Messmer Chirac Barre Mauroy Fabius Chirac Rocard Cresson Bérégovoy Balladur Juppé Jospin Raffarin de Villepin Fillon Ayrault Italics indicates interim holder

v t e Candidates in the French presidential election, 1969 Winner Georges Pompidou (UDR) Lost in runoff Alain Poher (PDM; acting incumbent) Other candidates Gaston Defferre (SFIO) Louis Ducatel (independent) Jacques Duclos (PCF) Alain Krivine (LCR) Michel Rocard (PSU)

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap
Priest, Religious, Stigmatic and Confessor
Born	(1887-05-25)May 25, 1887 Pietrelcina, Benevento, Italy
Died	September 23, 1968(1968-09-23) (aged 81) San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	May 2, 1999, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	June 16, 2002, Rome, Italy by Pope John Paul II
Major shrine	San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (where he lived and is now buried)
Feast	September 23
Patronage	civil defense volunteers, Catholic adolescents,

Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap., (25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968) was a Capuchin Catholic priest from Italy who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was born Francesco Forgione, and given the name Pius (Italian: Pio) when he joined the Capuchins, thus he was popularly known as Padre Pio. He became famous for his bearing the stigmata. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II.

Early life[link]

Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa de Nunzio Forgione (1859–1929) on 25 May 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania.^[1] His parents made a living as peasant farmers.^[2] He was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle.^[3] He later served as an altar boy in this same chapel. Restoration work on this chapel was later undertaken by the Padre Pio Foundation of America based in Cromwell, Connecticut.^[4] His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun).^[2] His parents had two other children who died in infancy.^[1] When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco, which was the name of one of these two.^[3] He stated that by the time he was five years old he had already taken the decision to dedicate his entire life to God.^[1][3] He is also said to have begun inflicting penances on himself and to have been chided on one occasion by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping on the stone floor.^[5] He worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned.^[6] This delayed his education to some extent.^[5]

Pietrelcina was a highly religious town (feast days of saints were celebrated throughout the year), and religion had a profound influence on the Forgione family. The members of the family attended daily Mass, prayed the Rosary nightly, and abstained from meat three days a week in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.^[3] Although Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they memorised the Scriptures and narrated Bible stories to their children. It is asserted by his mother that Francesco was able to see and speak with Jesus, the Virgin Mary and his guardian angel, and that as a child, he assumed that all people could do so.^[7]

As a youth Francesco reported that he had experienced heavenly visions and ecstasies.^[1] In 1897, after he had completed three years at the public school, Francesco was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations in the countryside. When he expressed his desire to his parents, they made a trip to Morcone, a community 13 miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The Friars there informed them that they were interested in accepting Francesco into their community, but he needed more educational qualifications.^[3]

Francesco's father went to the United States in search of work to pay for private tutoring for his son, so that he might meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order.^[1][6] It was in this period that Francesco received the sacrament of Confirmation on 27 September 1899.^[3] He underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On 6 January 1903, at the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone where, on 22 January, he took the Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Friar) Pio, in honor of Pope St. Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina.^[3] He took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.^[1]

Priesthood[link]

To commence his six-year study for priesthood and to grow in community life, he travelled to the friary of St. Francis of Assisi by oxcart.^[3] Three years later on 27 January 1907, he made his solemn profession. In 1910, Brother Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days later, he offered his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels. His health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family until early 1916 while still retaining the Capuchin habit.^[5]

On 4 September 1916, Father Pio was ordered to return to his community life. Thus he was moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia. At that time, with Father Pius the community numbered seven friars. He stayed at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death, except for his military service.

A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him".^[8] This statue in Rome shows him with a rosary.

When World War I started, four friars from this community were selected for military service.^[9] At that time, Padre Pio was a teacher at the seminary and a spiritual director.^[9] When one more friar was called into service, Padre Pio was put in charge of the community.^[9] Then, in the month of August 1917 Padre Pio was also called to military service.^[9] Although not in good health, he was assigned to the 4th Platoon of the 100th Company of the Italian Medical Corps.^[9] Although hospitalized by mid-October, he was not discharged until March 1918, whereupon he returned to San Giovanni Rotondo and was assigned to work at Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in Pietrelcina.^[9] Later, in response to his growing reputation as a worker of miracles, his superiors assigned him to the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo.^[9] In all, his military service lasted 182 days.^[9]

Padre Pio then became a spiritual director, guiding many spiritually, considering them his spiritual daughters and sons. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely, weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.^[9]

He compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now famous quote, "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry". He directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.^[9]

Poor health[link]

According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco, his spiritual director in San Marco in Lamis, the young Francesco Forgione was afflicted with a number of illnesses. At six he suffered from a grave gastroenteritis, which kept him bedridden for a long time. At ten he caught typhoid fever. At 17, he suddenly fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, and terrible migraines. He vomited frequently and could absorb only milk and cheese.

The hagiographers say that it was during this time, together with his physical illness, that inexplicable phenomena began to occur. According to their stories, one could hear strange noises coming from his room at night – sometimes screams or roars. During prayer, brother Pio remained in a stupor, as if he were absent.

One of Pio's fellow friars claims to have seen him in ecstasy, levitating above the ground.^[10]

In June 1905, Padre Pio's health was so weak that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him some good. His health got worse however, and doctors advised that he return to his home town. But even there, his health continued to worsen.

In addition to his childhood illnesses, throughout his life Padre Pio suffered from "asthmatic bronchitis". He also had a large kidney stone, with frequent abdominal pains. He further suffered from a chronic gastritis, which later turned into an ulcer. He also suffered from inflammations of the eye, of the nose, of the ear and of the throat, and eventually formed rhinitis and chronic otitis.

In the summer of 1915, in spite of poor health, he was drafted into the army. But after 30 days he was sent home on leave due to bad health. He returned to military service, and was put on leave again, this time for six months at a friary in a mountain village, San Giovanni Rotondo, where the weather was relatively cool even in the summer. After six months in this friary he returned to military service, but was sent home again two months later. On his return he was declared fit for service, and sent to the Sales barracks in Naples, where he remained until March 1917, at which time he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, certified by a radiological exam. He was then discharged from the army.

In 1925, Padre Pio was operated on for an inguinal hernia, and shortly after this a large cyst formed on his neck which had to be surgically removed. Another surgery was required to remove a malignant tumor on his ear. After this operation Padre Pio was subjected to radiological treatment, which was successful, it seems, after only two treatments.^[11]

In 1956, he came down with a serious case of "exudative pleuritis". The diagnosis was certified by Professor Cataldo Cassano, who personally extracted the serous liquid from the body of Padre Pio. He remained bedridden for four consecutive months.

In his old age Padre Pio was tormented by arthritis.

Spiritual suffering[link]

Padre Pio stated that he believed the love of God is inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God is the way for the soul to reach God.^[6] He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually.^[6] His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this when he said:

The Devil appeared as young girls that danced naked without any clothes on, as Christ Crucified, as a young friend of the friars, as the Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis and as Our Lady.^[12]

Now, twenty-two days have passed, since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh.^[12]

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, senior exorcist of Vatican City stated in an interview that Padre Pio was able to distinguish between real apparitions of Jesus, Mary and the Saints and the illusions created by the Devil by carefully analysing the state of his mind and the feelings produced in him during the apparitions. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis were always with him and helped him always.^[12]

Transverberation and visible stigmata[link]

Based on Padre Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious indications of the visible stigmata for which he would later become famous.^[13] In a 1911 letter, Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis, describing something he had been experiencing for a year:

Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain.^[13]

His close friend Padre Agostino wrote to him in 1915, asking specific questions such as when he first experienced visions, whether he had been granted the stigmata, and whether he felt the pains of the Passion of Christ, namely the crowning of thorns and the scourging. Padre Pio replied that he had been favoured with visions since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). He wrote that although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since at the time he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation.^[13] The visible wounds disappeared at that point, but reappeared in September 1918.^[13] He reported, however, that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. He also said that he was indeed experiencing the pain of the crown of thorns and the scourging. He was not able to clearly indicate the frequency of this experience, but said that he had been suffering from them at least once weekly for some years.^[13]

These experiences are alleged to have caused his health to fail, for which reason he was permitted to stay at home. To maintain his religious life as a friar while away from the community, he said Mass daily and taught at school.

St. John of the Cross describes the phenomenon of transverberation as follows:

The soul being inflamed with the love of God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph, who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love.^[2]

World War I was still going on, and in July 1918, Pope Benedict XV, who had termed the World War "the suicide of Europe," appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On 27 July of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between 5 August and 7 August, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side.^[2][9] As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God.

As a side-note, a first-class relic of Padre Pio, which consists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart" in Padre Pio's side, is exposed for public veneration at the St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.^[14]

With his transverberation began another seven-week long period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:

During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him.^[2]

In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his experiences during the transverberation:

While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony.^[14]

On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Padre Pio was in "profound peace."^[2] On that day, as Padre Pio was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, the same Being who had appeared to him and given him the transverberation, and who is believed to be the Wounded Christ, appeared again and Padre Pio had another experience of religious ecstasy.^[9] When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio had received the Visible Stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. This time, however, the stigmata were permanent and would stay on him for the next fifty years of his life.^[2][9]

In a letter from St. Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, his superior and spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis dated 22 October 1918, Padre Pio describes his experience of receiving the Stigmata as follows:

On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. [...] I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation.^[14]

He quoted, "the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross."

Though Padre Pio would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news about the stigmatic friar began to spread in the secular world. Padre Pio’s wounds were examined by many people, including physicians.^[2] People who had started rebuilding their lives after World War I began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.^[9] Those close to him attest that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (one account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.^[6][9]

Controversies[link]

It is claimed that no more than Anecdotal evidence supports Pio’s alleged mystical abilities, some of his bilocations are consistent with hallucinations and the supposed odor of sanctity was purported to be Eau de Cologne. He was never watched continuously to ensure that chemicals like carbolic acid or iodine were not used to prevent wounds healing, as has been claimed. Pio over many years wore fingerless gloves which concealed his wounds or prevented him having to tend the wounds, yet near his death Pio avoided covering his hands and there was no sign of injury.^{[15][16][17][unreliable source?]}

The founder of Milan's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, friar, physician and psychologist Agostino Gemelli, concluded Padre Pio was "an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity."^[18] In short, he was accused of infractions against all three of his monastic vows: poverty, chastity and obedience.^{[19][unreliable source?]} Agostino Gemelli also speculated that Padre Pio kept his wounds open with carbolic acid. As a result of the Gemelli assessment, the wounds were wrapped in cloth. According to believers, the bleeding continued for some 50 years until they closed within hours of his death.^[19]

On 29 July 1960, an Italian monsignore, Carlo Maccari, later to become the archbishop of Ancona, began yet another investigation on behalf of Pope John XXIII and the Holy Office. The 200-page report he compiled, though never published in full, is said to be devastatingly critical. Vatican gossip long had it that the “Maccari dossier” was an insuperable obstacle to Padre Pio’s sainthood. According to official Capuchin literature, however, Maccari later recanted and prayed to Padre Pio on his deathbed.^[19]

In 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza or "Home to Relieve Suffering"; the hospital opened in 1956.^[9][20] Barbara Ward, a British humanitarian and journalist on assignment in Italy, played a major role in obtaining for this project a grant of $325,000 from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In order that Padre Pio might directly supervise this project, Pope Pius XII, in 1957 granted him dispensation from his vow of poverty.^[21][22] Padre Pio's detractors used this project as another weapon to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of funds.^[21]

Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations.^[20][21] Fearing local riots, a plan to transfer Padre Pio to another friary was dropped and a second plan was aborted when a riot almost happened.^[19] In the period from 1924 to 1931 the Holy See made various statements denying that the happenings in the life of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause.^[9][20] At one point, he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.^[20]

By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pope Pius XI ordering the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass. The Pope said, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed."^[9] In 1934, he was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching licence.^[9] Pope Pius XII, who assumed the papacy in 1939, encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio. According to a recent book, Pope John XXIII (1958–1963) apparently did not espouse the outlook of his predecessors, and wrote in 1960 of Padre Pio’s “immense deception."^[23] However, it was John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI, who, in the mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio.^[19][21]

Death[link]

The deterioration of Padre Pio's health started during the 1960s in spite of which he continued his spiritual works. On 21 September 1968, the day after the 50th anniversary of his receiving the Stigmata, Padre Pio experienced great tiredness.^[24] The next day, on 22 September 1968, Padre Pio was supposed to offer a Solemn High Mass, but feeling weak and fearing that he might be too ill to complete the Mass, he asked his superior if he might say a Low Mass instead, just as he had done daily for years. Due to the large number of pilgrims present for the Mass, Padre Pio's superior decided the Solemn High Mass must proceed, and so Padre Pio, in the spirit of obedience to his superior, went on to celebrate the Solemn High Mass. While celebrating the Solemn High Mass, he appeared extremely weak and in a fragile state. His voice was weak when he said the Mass, and after the Mass had concluded, he was so weakened that he almost collapsed as he was descending the altar steps and needed help from a great many of his Capuchin confreres. This would be Padre Pio's last celebration of the Mass.

Early in the morning of 23 September 1968, Padre Pio made his last confession and renewed his Franciscan vows.^[9] As was customary, he had his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the strength to say the Hail Marys aloud.^[24] Till the end, he repeated the words "Gesù, Maria" (Jesus, Mary). At around 2:30am, he said, "I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary).^[24] At 2:30 a.m. he breathed his last in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!"^[1]

His body was buried on 26 September in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem Mass was attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death."^[24] The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which then disappeared.^[24]

St. Pio of Pietrelcina is currently known as the patron saint of civil defense volunteers, after a group of 160 of them petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference. The Bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave its approval to the designation.^[25] He is also “less officially” known as the patron saint of stress relief and the “January blues,” after the Catholic Enquiry Office in London proclaimed him as such. They designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as January 22, as Don’t Worry Be Happy day, in honor of Padre Pio’s famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”^[26]

Alleged supernatural phenomena[link]

Even the Vatican was skeptical about supernatural claims but Padre Pio acquired fame as a worker. He was purported to have the gift of reading souls, he is alleged to have been able to bilocate according to eyewitness accounts.^[27]

In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła, a young Polish priest who would later go on to become Pope John Paul II, visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. Austrian Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this meeting Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the Church though further confirmation is needed."^[28] Cardinal Stickler further went on to say that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a Cardinal, not Pope, as has been reported in works of piety.^[29] (John Paul's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction,^[30] while George Weigel's biography Witness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, does not mention it)

According to oral tradition ^[31] Bishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him to pray for Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a friend in Poland who was thought to be suffering from cancer. Later, what was thought to be Dr. Poltawska's cancer was found to be in Spontaneous remission; medical professionals were unable to offer an explanation for the phenomenon^[32] (see frequency of spontaneous remission).

Because of the unusual abilities Padre Pio possessed, the Holy See twice instituted investigations of the stories surrounding him. However, the Church has since formally approved his veneration with his canonization by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

In the 1999 book, Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker, a segment by Irish priest Malachy Gerard Carroll describes the story of Gemma de Giorgi, a Sicilian girl whose alleged blindness some believe was corrected during a visit to the Capuchin priest.^[33] Gemma, who was brought to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1947 by her grandmother, was born without pupils.^[33] During her trip to see Padre Pio, the little girl reportedly began to see objects including a steamboat and the sea.^[33] Gemma's grandmother did not believe the child had been healed.^[33] After Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio for Grace during her Confession, her grandmother reportedly implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight.^[33] Padre Pio, according to Carroll, told her, "The child must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees."^[33] The section goes on to say that oculists were unable to determine how she gained vision.^[33]

Padre Pio is alleged to have waged physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which he is said to have sustained extensive bruising. He is said to communicate with angels and grant favors and healings before any written or verbal request.

On the day of his death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini from Caracas, Venezuela reported that Padre Pio appeared to her in a vision and stated "I have come to say good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn."^[34][35][36] It is reported that her husband then watched as his wife's face transfigured into that of Padre Pio.^[34][35][36] On the following day, they heard of the death of Padre Pio.^[34][35][36] Witnesses claim to have seen Esperanza herself levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation^[36] Padre Domenico da Cese a fellow Capuchin stigmatist reported that on Sunday, September 22, 1968 he saw Padre Pio kneeling in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio hadn't left his room.^[37]

Stigmata[link]

Padre Pio showing the stigmata

On 20 September 1918, while hearing confessions, Padre Pio is said to have had his first occurrence of the stigmata: bodily marks, pain, and bleeding in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ. This phenomenon continued for fifty years, until the end of his life. The blood flowing from the stigmata is said to have smelled of perfume or flowers, a phenomenon mentioned in stories of the lives of several saints and often referred to as the odour of sanctity.

His stigmata, regarded by some as evidence of holiness, was studied by physicians whose independence from the Church is not known.^[20][21] The observations were reportedly unexplainable and the wounds never became infected.^[20][21][38] His wounds healed once but reappeared.^[39] They were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private practitioner also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV agreed that the wounds existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the University of Rome also observed the wounds but could make no diagnosis.^[40] Both Bignami and Dr. Giuseppe Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took X-rays of the hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.^[41]

It was reputed, however, that his condition caused him great embarrassment, and most photographs show him with red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet where the bleedings occurred.^[21] At Padre Pio's death in 1968, his body appeared unwounded, with no sign of scarring. Allegedly, there was report that doctors who examined his body found it empty of all blood.^[42]

Those who have accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, both religious and non-religious, such as historian Sergio Luzzatto and others, claim that Padre Pio used carbolic acid to self-inflict the wounds. The sole piece of evidence for this is a single document found in the Vatican's archive — the testimony of a pharmacist at the San Giovanni Rotondo, Maria De Vito, from whom he ordered 4 grams of the acid. This letter was amongst the material gathered by those who disputed Padre Pio's stigmata at the time. According to De Vito, Padre Pio asked her to keep the order secret, saying it was to sterilise needles (he also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles).^[43][44] The document was examined but dismissed by the Catholic Church during Padre Pio's beatification process.^[43]

One commentator expressed the belief that the Church likely dismissed the claims based on witnesses that stated the acid was in fact used for sterilization: "The boys had needed injections to fight the Spanish Flu which was raging at that time. Due to a shortage of doctors, Padres Paolino and Pio administered the shots, using carbolic acid as a sterilizing agent.”^[43][45]

Sainthood and later recognition[link]

In 1982, the Holy See authorized the Archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to discover whether Padre Pio should be considered a saint. The investigation went on for seven years, and in 1990 Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the progression to canonization.

Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints debated how heroically Padre Pio had lived his life, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him venerable. A discussion of the effects of his life on others followed, including the cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de Martino, which had been associated with Padre Pio's intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed.

After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, including discussion of another healing attributed to his intercession, the Pope declared Padre Pio a saint on 16 June 2002.^[29] Three hundred thousand people were estimated to have attended the canonization ceremony.^[29]

Padre Pio is one of only two saints who were priests living after the Second Vatican Council; the other being Saint Josemaria Escriva. Both priests had permission from the Pope to offer the traditional Latin Mass without any of the liturgical reforms that stemmed from the Council.

On 1 July 2004, Pope John Paul II dedicated the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.^[46] A statue of Saint Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it reportedly wept tears of blood.^[47] Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints. There are more than 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" worldwide, with three million members. There are parishes dedicated to Padre Pio in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia, and there is a St. Padre Pio Shrine in Buena, New Jersey. A 2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics pray to Padre Pio than to any other figure. This prayer, more properly understood as a request, is not to be confused with worship which the Catholic Church teaches is due only to God himself.^[48]

A statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill near the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province of Puglia, Italy, close to the town where he is commemorated. The project will cost several million pounds, with the money to be raised from his devotees around the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun's heat and produce solar energy, making it an "ecological" religious icon.^[49]

The body of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.

On 3 March 2008, the body of Saint Pio was exhumed from his crypt, 40 years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair condition". Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved".^[50] Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not visible.”^[51] He went on to say that St. Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be recognizable. However, due to its deterioration, his face was covered with a life-like silicone mask.^[52]

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on 24 April at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace, San Giovanni Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the monastery.^[53] Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. 800,000 pilgrims worldwide, mostly from Italy, made reservations to view the body up to December 2008, but only 7,200 people a day were able to file past the crystal coffin.^[54][55][56] Officials extended the display through September, 2009.^[57]

Saint Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio, which is beside San Giovanni Rotondo. In April 2010 they were moved to a special golden "Cripta".^[58]

In popular culture[link]

• Saint Pio and the validity of his claims are discussed in the novel The Shroud Codex by Jerome R. Corsi, ISBN 978-1-4391-9041-8, Threshold Editions, 2010.
• In the 1998 film Stigmata, one the main characters, a priest named Father Kiernan, while investigating a possible case of stigmata afflicting a woman played by Patricia Arquette, mentions Padre Pio in a conversation with her, during which a photo of Padre Pio as a young man is shown on screen.

See also[link]

• Incorruptibility
• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• Scientific skepticism
• Visions of Jesus and Mary
• Weeping statue

References[link]