1887
25 May - Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione) was born in Pietrelcina (Benevento) to Grazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa (Peppa) DiNunzio.
26 May - Little Francesco was baptised in the church of Sant'Anna.
1903
6 January - Young Forgione enters the novitiate of the Capuchins
in Morcone
22 January - He donned the habit of the Capuchin
order and took the name of Brother Pio.
1907
27 January - Brother Pio took his final vows.
1910
10th August - Brother Pio was ordained a priest in the cathedral
of Benevento.
14 August - Padre Pio said his first Mass in Pietrelcina.
- Padre Pio suffered from pains in his hands and feet.
8 September 1911 he revealed to his Spiritual Adviser, Padre Benedetto
from San Marco in Lamis, that he had had "invisible stigmata
for about a year".
1915
10 October - He told his Superior that he had been suffering the
pain inflicted by flagellations and the crowning of thorns for years
now.
1916
17 February - He was appointed to the monastery of Sant'Anna
in Foggia.
28 July - During a period of suffocating heat, he was taken to the
monastery of San
Giovanni Rotondo and stayed there one week.
4 September - He returned to San
Giovanni Rotondo for some time.
18 December - He went to Naples on national service, but his poor
physical conditions made the doctors send him home on special leave.
1917
12 November - He returned to the monastery of San
Giovanni Rotondo, where he stayed until 5 March 1918, the year
when he resumed national service in Naples. 1918
16 March - Padre Pio returned to the monastery of San
Giovanni Rotondo for good.
5 August - Through the work of a mysterious celestial being, Padre
Pio's heart was pierced by a spear, leaving him with a wound that
was to beed for the rest of his life. This phenomenon is known
as transverberation.
20th September - Following the appearance of the mysterious person
dripping with blood in the chapel, he found that he himself now
had wounds on his hands, ribcage and feet. From then on, Padre
Pio's body was marked with stigmata, the visible signs of
the Passion of Christ.
1919
News of the stigmata spread throughout Italy, and thousands of
pilgrims, attracted by this charismatic figure, began to make
their way to the Gargano.
15 May - Padre Pio's stigmata were first examined by a doctor,
Professor Luigi Romanelli, consultant at the hospital of Barletta.
26 July - Padre Pio was examined by professor Amico Bignami, head
of the medical pathology department of the University of Rome.
9 October - At the request of the General of the Capuchins, Padre
Venanzio from Lisle-en-Rigault, Padre Pio underwent in-depth medical
examinations conducted by Dr Giorgio Festa.
1923
17 June - Padre Pio was debarred from saying Mass in public or
replying to any of the letters arriving at the monastery in San
Giovanni Rotondo.
25 June - A popular revolt broke out on the afternoon of the day
when Padre Pio first said Mass in a private chapel.
26 June - Padre Pio resumed saying Masses in the church.
8 August - Padre Pio was ordered to move to Ancona.
17 August - Worried by the restlessness of the crowds, the ecclesiastical
authorities suspended this order.
1925
22 April - Resenting the restrictions placed on Padre Pio's confessional
duties, the faithful throughout the country were again in a state
of turmoil.
1933
16 July - Padre Pio resumed saying Masses in public following
a two-year suspension.
1940
9 January - Work was started on Padre Pio's "Grand Earthly
Undertaking", namely the building of his "House for
the Relief of Suffering ".
1956
5 May - The House for the Relief of Suffering was officially opened.
1968
22 September - Padre Pio said Mass at 5 a.m. as usual. This was
to be his last celebration of the Eucharist.
23 September - Padre
Pio died at 2.30am. His last words being "Jesus, Mary!
Jesus, Mary!"
26 September - Over a hundred thousand people attended his funeral.
27 September - The crypt containing Padre Pio's body was opened
to the public and was visited by droves of pilgrims over the following
years.
1983
20 March - The official enquiry into Padre Pio's case was opened
in San Giovanni Rotondo.
1987
23 May - The Holy Father, John Paul II, made a pilgrimage to San
Giovanni Rotondo and prayed at Padre Pio's tomb.
1990
21 January - The beatification process was completed.
1997
April - Padre Pio was declared Venerable.
1999
2 May - Padre Pio of Pietrelcina was officially beatified by John
Paul II.
2002
16 June - Pope John Paul
II canonized Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, OFM Cap. a saint
of the Church. There were over 500,000 people in attendance. |