Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Priest and Mystic

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968), affectionately known as Padre Pio, was an Italian Capuchin Franciscan priest, mystic, and stigmatist. Living at the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo, Padre Pio received the visible Stigmata of Christ in 1918, which he bore continuously for fifty years. Padre Pio possessed extraordinary spiritual gifts including bilocation, reading of souls in confession, prophetic insight, and miraculous healings. He spent up to sixteen hours a day hearing confessions, bringing countless souls to repentance and conversion. He founded the "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" (Home for the Relief of Suffering), a world-class hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, and exhorted believers: "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."