Born in 1887, Padre Pio is not yet canonized. Francesco, named in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, was one of eight children of Grazio and Maria Forgione. Francesco was very devout even as a child, and at an early age felt drawn to the priesthood. He became a Capuchin novice at the age of sixteen and received the “habit” in 1902. Francesco was ordained to the priesthood in 1910 after seven years of study and became known as Padre Pio. On September 20, 1918, Padre Pio was kneeling in front of a large
Padre Pio was born to a small religious family in Pietrelcina, a small farming city in south Italy. When he was born he had an older brother, as time passed he received three younger siblings. While living in Pietrelcina, he was dedicated to the small church his family attended regularly and started to serve as an altar boy. By the time he reached five-years-old, he had made up his mind to spend the rest of his life serving God. Besides having many visions and epiphanies, he was able to speak to