Padre Pio exhumed for a second life
The saint's body goes on display in an Italian town. Church and city officials hope the monk's reputation as a miracle worker will enhance faith, not to mention tourism.
SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, ITALY — The exhumed and cosmetically enhanced corpse of Padre Pio, mystic monk and one of the world's most revered saints, went on display here Thursday, amid weeping devotees and eager souvenir-hawkers.
By evening, several thousand pilgrims had filed past the body of Padre Pio, a purported worker of miracles and reader of souls whose cult-like following spans the globe.
Padre Pio died 40 years ago at the age of 81, and the tomb containing his remains was unearthed from a church crypt here last month. A team of forensic specialists, doctors and a biochemist worked to restore the body for Thursday's ceremony.
A London company that supplies figures for wax museums created a special silicon mask to represent his face, complete with beard and bushy eyebrows.
Resting in a regal glass-and-marble coffin in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church, Padre Pio is wearing the brown hood of his Capuchin order, and a silk, ice-white stole embroidered in crystal and gold covers his shoulders. His hands are placed on his chest under a large wooden cross, darkened fingers poking out of partial gloves.
"My heart is crying," Anna Menga, 56, said after praying alongside Padre Pio's body for the health of her sick son. "Whenever we have problems or we feel sad, we turn to Padre Pio. He has changed my life."
Bishops and priests were among the first to view the body, many using cellphones to snap photos. Nuns standing to one side of the coffin said prayers.
Padre Pio has such a loyal devotion that in some parts of Italy his name is invoked in prayer more frequently than that of the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ.
He is also big business, and business in this rustic region of southern Italy has been hurting. Numerous hotels built after Pio became a saint six years ago have gone bust, and a mayor was convicted of absconding with funds. Today, city fathers and church officials are hoping the renewed reverence will give a boost to the economy.
Prospects look good: City officials say around three-quarters of a million pilgrims and tourists have made reservations to view the body through June, and hotels are booked full.
Anna Manzelli, 31, from Sicily brought her sick mother-in-law to Padre Pio's hospital and her two little children to Thursday's Mass in his honor. Her 2-year-old is named for the saint.
