The body of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. / Credit: patterned via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
CNA Staff, May 25, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA).
St. Pio of Pietrelcina — better known as Padre Pio — one of the most beloved modern saints in the Catholic Church, wa… […]
To mark its 10th anniversary, the St. Pio Foundation in the United States has released 10 never-before-seen photographs of Padre Pio. The candid images include scenes of the Italian priest celebrating Mass and deep in prayer. The foundation’s director, Luciano Lamonarca, discovered the photos when visiting photographer Elia Saleto’s studio. / Credit: Courtesy of the St. Pio Foundation
CNA Staff, Apr 10, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
To mark its 10th anniversary, the St. Pio Foundation in the United States has released 10 never-before-seen photographs of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio.
The candid images show the Italian priest celebrating Mass and deep in prayer but also in lighter moments of laughter, rarely captured of the friar. The foundation’s director, Luciano Lamonarca, discovered the photos when visiting photographer Elia Saleto’s studio.
EWTN News Vatican correspondent Colm Flynn sat down with Lamonarca in a recent interview for “EWTN News Nightly” to discuss the images. One of the most surprising photos was of Padre Pio smiling.
“One is nice because [it shows everybody] hey, Padre Pio is smiling. Yes, he was smiling because he was a man. So we always think that Padre Pio was a serious man. We know that faith is also about laughing … sometimes,” Lamonarca said.
The professional opera singer grew up in Italy aware of the giant figure that Padre Pio was in the Catholic Church but didn’t have a particular devotion to the saint until he and his wife faced the great suffering of having a stillborn baby and receiving the news that they would probably not be able to have more children.
It was then that the couple turned to Padre Pio’s intercession and, in the process, began to learn more about his life.
Lamonarca said he learned about Padre Pio’s “simplicity and humility.”
“He was the grandfather I never had,” he told Flynn.
Lamonarca said he felt such a connection to the saintly friar that he wanted to help bring his story and message to as many people as possible — especially in the United States — so he founded the St. Pio Foundation.
Today Lamonarca and his wife live in the United States with their son, Sebastian, who was born the year after Lamonarca founded the foundation. As an Italian living in the U.S., he is passionate about strengthening the ties between the two countries in the name of St. Pio.
In addition to the release of the photos to celebrate its 10th anniversary, the foundation has also produced a documentary drama about Padre Pio, which will air on EWTN later this year.
The full interview with Lamonarca on “EWTN News Nightly” can be viewed below.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio / Source: EWTN News In Depth segment
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 9, 2022 / 06:00 am (CNA).
As one of the most well-known modern saints in the world, the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina… […]
“Padre Pio” director Abel Ferrara poses for a portrait at the Giorgio Franchetti gallery at Ca’ d’Oro in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 22, 2022. / Photo by Stefano Mazzola/Getty Images
Boston, Mass., Aug 30, 2022 / 13:45 pm (CNA).
Abel Ferrara began h… […]
St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio). / Public Domain.
Rome Newsroom, Jun 16, 2022 / 09:36 am (CNA).
On this day 20 years ago, more than 300,000 people crowded into St. Peter’s Square as Pope John Paul II canonized St. Pio of Pietrelcina, calling… […]
St. Pio of Pietrelcina / Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA
Washington D.C., Jun 4, 2021 / 07:58 am (CNA).
A Catholic organization is suing a Michigan township after it was denied permission to build a chapel and prayer trail dedicated to St. Pio of Pietrelci… […]
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