Padre Pio: A mysterious and inexplicable Illness

Padre Pio’s Mysterious Illness: A Path of Suffering and Faith

In 1909, Padre Pio began experiencing a mysterious and prolonged illness that forced him to move frequently between various convents, as his superiors hoped a change of environment might improve his health. However, every attempt to reintegrate him into convent life failed, as his condition inexplicably worsened. For seven years, Padre Pio was unable to live in the convents and had to remain in his family home in Pietrelcina—a situation that clashed with the Franciscan ideal of communal living and caused unease among some of his fellow friars. Faced with this unusual circumstance, the Superior General of the Order petitioned the Sacred Congregation of Religious to exclude Padre Pio from the Order. The request, however, was denied, and instead, Padre Pio was granted permission to remain outside the convent until his health fully recovered. This seven-year period of mysterious suffering became not only a time of purification but also a spiritual preparation for the monumental mission the Lord had reserved for him. Through these trials, Padre Pio learned to walk Christ’s Calvary, making Jesus his Teacher and Model. Despite the difficulties, the Divine Master ensured that no one else would carry out the mission destined for him alone.

The Mystery of Padre Pio’s Suffering

The illnesses that afflicted Padre Pio defied the medical understanding of his time. His symptoms appeared unpredictably, with fevers so intense they reached 48–48.5°C (118.4–119.3°F)—so high that bath thermometers had to be used to measure them. As he drew closer to Christ, he became the target of increasingly severe demonic attacks. Yet his unwavering faith and love for God only grew stronger with each passing day. During this period, as Padre Pio drew closer to Jesus, he increasingly became the target of diabolic attacks. Yet, at the same time, his faith in the Lord grew unshakable, and his love for Him deepened with each passing day. He dedicated himself to prayer, theological studies, religious services, catechism lessons for children, and pastoral visits to families. His spiritual struggles against the devil in Pietrelcina were relentless but were counterbalanced by mystical ecstasies and extraordinary phenomena that affected both his body and soul. The devil manifested to him in various forms: as animals, as women engaging in impure dances, or as jailers who mercilessly beat him. After each assault, Padre Pio would find solace in spiritual ecstasies, during which he was visited by Jesus, the Virgin Mary, his Guardian Angel, Saint Francis, and other saints. On August 12, 1912, Padre Pio experienced the “wound of love” for the first time. He wrote to his spiritual director to describe this extraordinary event: “I was in church making my thanksgiving after Holy Mass when suddenly I felt my heart pierced by a fiery dart. I thought I was about to die.”

A Return to Community Life and Spiritual Service

After several years of suffering in Pietrelcina, Padre Pio relocated to Foggia in 1916 in response to his superiors’ call to serve the religious community at Sant’Anna. Despite the move and his return to community life, his connection to Pietrelcina remained unbroken. Deeply attached to his hometown, he often wrote: “Pietrelcina will be preserved like the apple of my eye.” Padre Pio’s life of battling demonic forces, his mystical experiences, and his remarkable ability to transform suffering into acts of love have solidified his place as one of the most revered saints in modern times. His life offers an extraordinary example of how pain, united with faith, can become a powerful instrument for the salvation of others.