"Made with help from the Cappuccini, to which Padre Piobelonged." "Padre Pio Between Heaven and Earth" "Monsignor Micara," "Father Guardian of the Order of the Capuchins, lived here..." "A great man." "He died long ago." "I was already working with him by then, and before he died, he entrusted me with the task of supporting and defending the truth about Padre Pio." "I invited you here for this reason, because many people speak well of him, but some cast shadows on his name." "That's the way it's always been." "He was equally hated and loved." "Many things have been said against him, against the one who suffered when someone was ill-spoken of." "He never defended himself." "He was always humble and charitable." "He always loved everyone." "He said that... a life without love is worse than death." "He could always surprise you." "He said that he too... was a mystery to himself." "San Giovanni Rotondo, September 20, 1918" "When he arrived at the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, he was feeling lost, in what he called 'the dark night'." "My Lord, You've left me alone and I've lost my way." "I can no longer subdue my heart." "Where can I find You?" "I look for You, but can't see You." "Pio!" "I was waiting for you for Vespers." "What made you so late?" "Sorry, I didn't realize." "Where you worried?" "A little." "I was reading." "There's a beautiful phrase, a holy image of the Holy Virgin:" ""It will pass, this trial which seizes my soul till desperation." "But You... do not pass."" "What a beautiful phrase." "Beautiful, isn't it?" "Very beautiful." "Thank you, Nicola." "For all these horrors, all this blood, this terrible war," "I offer myself as victim for the poor sinners," "I offer myself so this war might end." "Pour upon me the punishment prepared for others, pour it a hundred times upon me, so others may be saved." "Pio?" "Merciful Lord!" "Pio!" "Pio, what's going on?" "Are you hurt?" "It's nothing, Nicola." "Nothing?" "!" "There's all this blood!" "Open the door!" "Nothing's wrong!" "It's nothing, just nothing." "Open the door, please!" "Was it... nother battle with evil?" "Leave me alone, Nicola." "Open up, please." "Father Elia!" "Padre Benedetto, the brothers talk only of these wounds." "As Father Guardian I'm doing all I can to stem this curiosity." "You've called a doctor, haven't you?" "You mentioned the telegram." "The doctor comes here very often, Padre Pio is still very ill." "He says that he can't determine the nature of the wounds." "He doesn't exclude that they... could have been willfully caused." "Does it hurt you?" "Very much..." "A sword that pierces me." "You've been bleeding since Friday?" "He could bleed to death." "Does the clamor around you disturb you?" "These sores, for me, are a source of great humbling and confusion." "I pray continuously, to Our Lord to, take them away... maybe leaving the pain, which I accept... if He'd just take them away." "But you wrote me that you offered yourself as victim for the sinners and Jesus answered your plea." "It's a mystery of pain and love, and he who loves must suffer." "You can get dressed." "Padre Pio is a sincere man, but we'll call on specialists." "News of this mustn't get out." "Let no one speak or know." "Father, always remember that you're never alone." "Michele?" "What is it?" "The bow." "Padre Pio, did you burn your hands?" "Is it so hard to wake up in the morning?" "Doesn't look like a burn." "Don't change the subject." "You have to be on time for church in the morning." "All right?" "Yes, yes." "Do you have to serve Mass so early?" "Listen to this fresh boy." "My goodness!" "Holes!" "Careful!" "Like Jesus!" "Careful, you hurt me." "How much does it hurt?" "Very much, my son." "Listen..." "Don't get any strange ideas." "These wounds are very painful, but I prayed to the Christ Child." "I said: "At Christmas, You have to take them away." Understand?" "Kneel down." "The only ones who know this are you, me and Our Lord." "We are the only ones to know." "No one else must know." "Understand?" "Swear it." "I swear." "Swear more truthfully." "I swear it." "Good boy." "Padre Pio has holes in his hands like Jesus!" "Padre Pio has holes in his hands like Jesus!" "Padre Pio has holes in his hands like Jesus!" "A miracle!" "Michele, is that true?" "My Lord, how can that be?" "Peace in the Lord." "My brother is missing in action." "Is he alive?" "I'll say a prayer for him." "Padre Pio has the wounds!" "Be gentle." "A blessing for me and my family." "No one is denied a blessing." "Help us!" "I'll pray to the Holy Virgin." "Padre Pio, make me walk again." "I can't work miracles." "Those are the Lord's work." "I will pray for you." "This is an offer for the needy." "Thank you very much." "Is my husband in Purgatory?" "How do I know?" "I haven't come from there!" "Do the wounds hurt you?" "Of course not, they're decorations." "Have mercy!" "What's wrong?" "She's been like this for a year and sometimes she faints." "Take her to the hospital." "You must hope, be patient." "Once, a big name doctor, said three years ago that I had tuberculosis, but he was wrong." "I'm still here." "We've never seen a doctor." "Why not?" "We have no money." "Here, take her to the hospital." "Bless me." "I'm about to have a baby!" "A nice baby boy, or rather, a lovely girl for you." "I want to get married." "Suggest me a nice, honest girl?" "Take your pick." "See how many nice, young girls are here?" "I want to know my future." "Am I a fortune teller?" "You want to rinse your face with my hand?" "You're hurting me." "You truly hurt him!" "Padre Pio, a piece of your rope!" "What are you doing?" "Are you crazy?" "Even knives now?" "!" "Should I slap someone?" "I'd do it if my hands didn't hurt." "Let the Father through!" "Out of the way!" "If I get my hands on the one who cut my rope..." "I don't know..." "I don't know if I can stand up to so many people." "They all want to kiss my hands here, but it's so painful." "Today there was a person who, with his fingers tried to get under... under the bandage to touch the wound." "Think of all the people you get to come here!" "All this uproar because of me..." "They even organize pilgrimages!" "Because they need you and you must welcome them." "You mustn't be a joyless monk with gloom stuck all over you." "You're right." "Sadness is of the devil." "Right!" "Many anonymous letters against Padre Pio flowed into the Holy Office, whose task was to be watchful of the Faith and morality of the clergy." "They were letters sent by priests from San Giovanni Rotondo, jealous because the offers went more and more to Padre Pio's monastery." "A real conspiracy, born and nurtured in the shadows, in which even some fanatical women took part." "More anonymous letters about Padre Pio have arrived." "I'm worried." "The Bishop of Manfredonia, his own bishop, claims Padre Pio uses nitric acid to keep the wounds open." "Says he witnessed it himself." "He swears it on his cross." "That would make him a faker." "We must act with decision." "Let's send a specialist, someone renowned who won't be disputed." "Right away." "It was then that Guglielmo's life began to mix with Padre Pio's and my own." "...thus, circulating from peripheral units to central ones, from these to those, the admirable mastery of innervation is brought about." "But we'll talk about this in the next lesson." "See you tomorrow." "Hi, Guglielmo!" "The Holy Office has asked my professor to examine the wounds of a certain Padre Pio." "I've heard of him." "Evidently, they don't believe him." "We're going down tomorrow." "If even Inquisition doesn't believe him, this Padre Pio must be quite a person." "You had a lot of experience with fakers during the war." "Give me some advice to catch him." "Here's all the information the priests gave us on him." "Make me look good." "It says he was in an army hospital for a long time before being declared unfit, and he had fevers as high as 106°C." "Does 106 degrees seem possible?" "The number is written out." "That's the figure." "There's a note by the medical officer which says:" ""It was not possible to measure his temperature by normal means, because the thermometers kept breaking."" "No doubt it's an unusual case." "And so?" "So either he's a genius con-man, or he brings on the wounds and fevers by suggestion, a hysteric." "How can we unmask him?" "I don't know." "There is a way." "We used it in war." "What was it?" "Has he ever suffered from nervous disorders?" "No." "Has he ever been delirious, had convulsions, tremors?" "No." "Write this down: "An eschar is visible on the right-hand palm, blackish, round in shape with distinct edges." "A diffused cutaneous hyperstesia is evident." "The area of the eschar and the skin around it is painful to pressure." "Have these wounds bled continuously since last September?" "Yes." "And you keep medicating them with iodine?" "Yes." "Using the same product?" "Why?" "I hope to stop the blood to heal the wound." "Why did the wounds appear here, and not elsewhere?" "How do I know?" "You're the man of science." "It's your job to tell me." "The monk's sincere manner makes him likeable." "He doesn't seem to be a hysteric, but that's why I believe he is." "Behind his apparent sincerity hides a histrionic, theatrical behavior." "His humility is superficial." "He attracts attention by withdrawing." "Influencing others, as well as himself." "The wounds are the product of pathological condition." "Only one thing I can't explain." "The wounds have persisted for nine months." "That's strange, but he may have caused them himself artificially, with chemicals... that very same iodine." "He admitted to using the same iodine since last September, an old bottle." "On purpose?" "No, I think he's in good faith." "Even many of our colleagues are not aware that iodine, when aged, is an irritant." "Yes, yes, yes." "That's what must have happened." "And now..." "we have to prove it." "We had a system in war which we could apply to this case." "Go on." "We seal and sign the bandages, checking them periodically." "Good idea." "In 15 days the wounds will disappear, and on that date we break our seals on the bandage." "It's time!" "Quiet!" "Well, then..." "Down to our knees." "It's fresh blood." "Now what's your theory, Professor?" "I have no words." "In all honesty, can you exclude that Padre Pio didn't inflict those wounds subconsciously?" "And you, Your Eminence, can you prove your mother loves you?" "Love can't be explained, it can only be lived." "You're right." "When did you meet Padre Pio for the first time?" "I went with my mother to San Giovanni Rotondo." "I had never taken such a long trip before." "Without knowing him, after my father's death," "I wrote him to ask for comfort and advice." "He answered right away." "At the beginning, I judged him a simple person." "But letter after letter, I found I needed him." "He was a very subtle conqueror of souls, and for every soul he behaved differently." "I became one of his spiritual daughters." "Want Padre Pio for 2 cents?" "No, thank you." "So many people went to him, an unstoppable flow of people of all kinds that wanted to meet him, talk with him." "They were attracted to him like to a devouring fire." "You won't believe this, but you can smell Padre Pio's scent." "Even when he isn't there?" "Especially then." "The scent of anise means Padre Pio invites you to hope, the scent of lilies is an invitation to purity, the scent of roses means in that moment Padre Pio is watching you." "I smell it often." "Come." "Don't argue like that, it's useless." "Just pray." "he's handsome, isn't he?" "He adores me." "He asked me to put flowers on the altar for the needy." "Did you bring me tomatoes?" "These are..." "My dear girl." "You're Emilia, aren't you?" "How do you know that?" "She's your mother." "I knew it right away, because it is you... who are at the top of everything, and at the center, here in my heart." "After Jesus, and Our Heavenly Mother, of course." "How long will you stay?" "Unfortunately, just today." "No,no, no." "You must stay here." "She's beautiful!" "You're so beautiful, my child." "At the center of my heart..." "What's the matter?" "First he uses me and now he doesn't even see me." "I'll stop putting flowers on the altar since there are others closer to him." "All we needed was a 21 year old!" "After all I did for him and I didn't want to." "What do you mean?" "Better for everyone if I don't talk." "Calm down." "The 30th, this month..." "The little girl is blind." "Where are you going?" "Stay in line." "She's blind." "So young, poor thing." "Why these glasses?" "Don't you want to show Padre Pio how pretty your eyes are?" "Do as Padre Pio says." "Don't you want to show me your little eyes?" "How pretty they are!" "You have two little stars." "Momma!" "Momma, how pretty you are!" "A miracle!" "A miracle!" "No, no, no!" "You don't know what you're saying." "Only God can work miracles, ok?" "Stop!" "Let me through!" "What are you saying?" "I can't do everything!" "If you say I can do everything, then I'm a scoundrel." "I'm a scoundrel if I can do everything, but I don't do anything to help you!" "All I can do is pray for you." "I can suffer for you, but it's God who works miracles." "Make way!" "God alone!" "Pain can't disappear from the face of the earth!" "Who am I?" "What do You want from me?" "They call them miracles, but they're just episodes induced by the monk's powers of suggestion." "I don't see how he does it because he's not a hysteric." "He has no hypnotic powers." "How can you exclude it, Guglielmo?" "Our colleagues in pathology concluded that Padre Pio suffers no mental or nervous disorders." "Not to question your professor's ability, but if I had examined him, I'd have unmasked him." "That man's a hysteric without a doubt!" "You know more sophisticated and updated techniques." "Diagnosing hysteropathy takes months and months of work." "The professor is right." "Have you read Babinsky's studies?" "They demonstrate wounds like these are always false, produced by sly trickery." "Or they're psychosomatic." "In this case, the wounds would have a normal lapse of time." "That is, either they'd get worse or they'd get better~" "Didn't you hear the professor?" "Did you hear what I said?" "I understand you want a career, but there are limits~ Sanguinetti... it's obvious the monk renews his wounds continuously." "How?" "By thinking intensely about the wounds of Christ." "Then you try thinking intensely that you're an ox." "Let's see if you get the horns." "Have a good day." "My husband was like that." "He knew no compromises." "He was obviously a man motivated by the love of truth." "He decided to leave the university, and come to Tuscany to be a general practitioner." "He came right to my village." "He was very happy to be among real people." "It reminds me of the San Giovanni Rotondo of that period." "I've seen other pictures like this;" "no electricity, running water, or any commodity whatsoever." "There was only the strength of the spirit." "It's the spirit that moves the world." "Excuse me." "Is it far to the monastery?" "About one kilometer." "Have you seen Padre Pio?" "Is he well?" "We just left him." "Right, father?" "Yes, yes." "He's very well." "Why?" "They told us he was ill." "You know how rumors are!" "Lord, I thank you!" "Do you love Padre Pio too?" "Of course." "Thanks!" "You're here!" "Mama, what are you doing?" "It's the son who should kiss his mother's hand and not vice versa." "Do your wounds hurt?" "It's nothing compared to what Our Lord suffered." "You really don' feel ill?" "No." "I brought you the homemade cakes you used to like so much." "Homemade cakes..." "Want to give them to the monastery?" "Let's give them to the poor." "Of course." "At least one!" "There are so many needy." "Come here, Maria!" "This is Maria, our spiritual daughter." "She's wanted to have you in her home for many years." "You can stay with me as long as you want." "Thank you, ma'am, you're very kind." "Pio." "I'm listening." "Tell me, was the journey long?" "Pio, only your mother will stay." "I'm leaving before nightfall so I can get the last bus." "I have lots to do in Pietrelcina." "As you like." "I need the money for the ticket." "We spent everything to get here." "I don't have any money." "What a son!" "I went to America twice so you could study, and you can't even give me the money for a ticket." "We Capuchins take vows of poverty." "I can't have any money." "All right." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, dad." "He decided early to become a monk." "And that's what he did." "When he came to tell me I felt my heart break, but I told him: "Don't let your mother's pain stop you." "St. Francis has called you." "Leave."" "I..." "I gave him a rosary... before he left." "He was so content." "A rosary with beads of mother-of-pearl?" "Yes, why?" "Because he keeps it with him at all times." "It's one of his dearest possessions." "Let's go." "It's time for Mass." "Put this coat on, it's cold outside." "No, it'll make me look like a great lady." "That's Padre Pio's mother." "You should have worn that coat." "Isn't there a medicine?" "Not yet, Padre..." "Not for double pneumonia." "Doctor!" "I'm sorry." "Is that you, Pio?" "Mom!" "Just rest." "I've sent for dad." "He'll be here tomorrow." "You shouldn't have bothered him... for such a small thing." "Now he'll be worried." "No, get some rest now." "He should sleep too." "He hasn't moved for three days." "Try telling him, but he won't move if that's his decision." "You know him." "Mama!" "Pio..." "You know very well pain is a manifestation of love, and the offering to be made is made to God." "You mustn't cry like that." "She loved me so much, Father." "They're tears of love." "My mother." "Your father." "Dad!" "The idea came to me after the death of my poor mother;" "a small hospital for the most urgent cases, where the poor could be treated without spending a cent." "We could dedicate it to St. Francis of Assisi." "Just a few beds, but this alone would be a blessing." "Padre Pio... do you realize the difficulties?" "Of course, so I took the liberty of speaking to the nuns." "They'd give us two large rooms in the convent, they'd wash linens, cook." "So you already talked about it?" "Yes, in passing, just to sound it out." "There's also a benefactress in town who'd donate a cabinet with surgical instruments." "And doctor Iodice, that very good surgeon from Foggia," "Would come twice a week without charge." "Bravo." "I see." "You've sounded out things well." "Yes..." "But it can't be done." "Why?" "There's a problem." "So many people give me their offerings personally;" "so many, they give what they can." "With this money we could buy beds, mattresses." "But we monks cannot administer money." "No." "It's not permitted by the rules." "That's true." "But wait, are the offerings clearly designated for the hospital?" "Of course." "Well then!" "What's the problem?" "To receive the money without knowing its destination would be serious but if the offerings are designated, there's no offense to our duties." "Then it can be done?" "Yes." "Good afternoon." "Do you know where a child named Adelmo lives?" "Adelmo?" "No, I don't." "I do." "His house is down there." "Thank you." "It hurts more there, right?" "He'll have to go to the hospital in Florence." "He needs tests." "Maybe... maybe even an operation." "An operation?" "It's that serious?" "I shouldn't have brought him here to work with me." "I should have left him home with his mother!" "You shouldn't have brought him." "He's just a child." "It won't be a short hospital stay." "I don't want to take him to the hospital in Florence." "I want to take him to Padre Pio's hospital." "Padre Pio..." "He has a hospital?" "Yes." "In San Giovanni Rotondo, near my village, so if he's there a long time, his mother can be with him." "Doctor..." "I can't go with him to Florence." "They'll kick me off my job if I don't show up." "And his mother can't home here!" "Who'd she leave the others with?" "You'd need an ambulance to get him to Apulia." "I don't have the money." "I don't have it." "Dad!" "Don't worry about the money." "I'll go with him." "Thank you!" "No need." "Padre Pio might work a miracle." "Don't make me sorry I suggested it." "Excuse me, please!" "My mother isn't well, not well at all." "Are you the new doctor?" "Yes." "What's the matter?" "My mother.. she feels ill, I don't know why." "Come with me, please!" "Miss!" "Pack the boy's things." "Yes, doctor." "Miss!" "Miss!" "Wait for me!" "Her heartbeat is regular." "We can do some tests, but it's nothing serious." "I was so frightened." "That's normal." "But it was just a small neurodystonia, a nervous condition." "Here." "I'll leave you a heart stimulant." "If she should feel ill again, give her 15 drops and please call me right away." "I'll be going." "Everything seems to be all right." "Yes, thank you again." "No need, it's my duty." "I didn't offer you anything." "Thank you, but I really must..." "Actually..." "A cup of coffee, if it's no bother." "So if your mother wakes up, I can talk to her." "Yes." "I'll make some right away." "Is it good?" "Delicious." "Emilia!" "Mom!" "Is that your name?" "Emilia?" "We haven't introduced ourselves." "No." "My name is Emilia." "Guglielmo." "Mom, come in." "Good day, miss." "Who's this?" "Allow me to introduce myself." "I'm the new general practitioner, Guglielmo Sanguinetti." "Is that how you met?" "Guglielmo..." "How full of life he was!" "A glass of water?" "Yes." "Allow me." "Should we stop for a while?" "No." "Remembering is a good thing." "In the beginning my mother didn't want me to see him because Guglielmo wasn't of the faith." "Padre Pio convinced her, by letter, but this was later." "By letter?" "Padre Pio never left San Giovanni Rotondo." "It was the people who went to him... both friends and enemies." "A picture of Padre Pio!" "The holy image of the Padre!" "Welcome." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "This way, Madam." "Put them away." "Padre Pio, good day." "An eminent neurologist is here." "Father Gemelli." "He founded the Catholic University." "He's come from Milan to examine you." "Welcome." "The Franciscan tree, Padre Pio, always bears new fruit." "This is comforting." "Will our university receive the Lord's blessing?" "Yes." "Of course it will." "I noticed that you are the object of heartfelt demonstrations." "Each one of us expresses his faith the best they can, and the way they know." "You've come from Milan to see me?" "We're here for a clinical examination of your... lesions." "I can show them to you, only by order of the Holy Office." "Do you have written authorization?" "Not written, but I'm a doctor." "Yes, but you're also a monk like me." "We're bound by obedience." "Without written authorization, I can't show them to you." "Oh, dear Lord." "The 28th, this month..." "In ten days..." "What are these numbers for?" "For confession." "There's a free place in ten days." "Do you want to confess to Padre Pio?" "Last place, in ten days." "Nothing else?" "No." "Are you so blind that you can't see how dirty your conscience is?" "Is there nothing else?" "No." "You can fool me, but not Him." "Are you sure there's nothing else?" "No." "Get out!" "Get out!" "Who was that man?" "A member of the Supreme Court." "A member of the Supreme..." "He makes no distinction between classes." "He sees a person's soul." "I beg your forgiveness, Father Terenzio." "Sometimes these wounds give me such pain that it's unbearable" "Pull hard enough, the rope snaps." "The pain is stronger especially when" "I have to deny absolution to someone." "I'm not able to give it if someone lies to me." "Father Benedetto, you taught me that in the confessional we administer the blood of Our Lord Jesus." "I know." "It's a tremendous responsibility." "However, to please God, we must always act according to our own conscience." "If when you turn away, the penitent person awakens, then turn him away." "But you also must learn to control yourself." "I promise." "I'll fight this temper of mine- so harsh, so..." "Wait here, please..." "I'll be more humble, I promise." "Padre Pio, excuse me." "Father Benedetto, may I?" "Of course." "That member of the Supreme Court from this morning is here." "He insisted on seeing you." "What do I do?" "Please, have him come in." "Yes, sir." "Please, come in." "Come in, brother." "Forgive me." "I'll confess everything." "I'll tell you the whole truth." "Padre!" "You don't know what joy you give me!" "You soothe my soul!" "Please excuse us." "Of course." "Doctor, what's the matter?" "Some complications have arisen." "Tell me, please." "Just relax." "We'll take care of everything." "No one's allowed..." "Padre!" "You look tired." "You've been here many days." "I've come to give you a rest." "My little boy!" "Grant a favor, help him!" "Go get some rest!" "Meanwhile I'll pray for your son while the doctors treat him." "Go now." "Adelmo." "Little Adelmo." "Emilia speaks about you often in her letters." "About me?" "Yes." "She asks if she's right... to give you her heart." "She asks you?" "Emilia also writes that you know pain, that you understand it." "This isn't a common thing." "Yes, I understand it... and I fear it." "That's why I try to fight it." "You do well to fight it, but pain gives its fruit too." "What fruit?" "I've never seen any." "See, right now." "There's this sick child." "I've prayed so much for him." "You've done what a doctor must do, but his short life isn't in our hands." "Our ways are not the ways of the Lord." "The fruit of this lacerating pain... can't be comprehended now." "This is the great mystery." "Adelmo!" "Adelmo!" "My son must have a delicate operation." "Alright, alright..." "We'll try to do something for everyone, a prayer for all of you." "We have to leave for America." "Try to be strong." "I'll be near you on the trip, bringing you good luck" "Father with the holes!" "Be damned!" "I'd kill you, but I can't!" "Father Francis and that woman are protecting you!" "That woman you always pray to defend you!" "This is my cousin." "She's possessed by the devil, Padre Pio!" "Do something!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "Priest!" "Bastard!" "I hate you..." "I hate you!" "Tonight you'll be alone." "I'll kill you!" "He's not well!" "Try to understand." "Let us through!" "Easy!" "The Middle Ages are long over!" "Not for padre Pio." "Where's the harm, Father Benedetto?" "In this day, we can only laugh in the face of such manifestations." "What was that?" "What's going on?" "What's all that racket?" "From now on I can't do anything against you, but I'll hurl my fury against your work!" "I'll go see." "Be careful!" "Am I hurting you?" "Should we call a doctor?" "What do you say?" "What happened?" "Was it the devil, like that mad woman at the church said?" "Could he come back?" "He's a faker, a self-punishing psychopath." "Moreover, he's a man of a very limited intelligence." "What makes you say that?" "I'm well-documented on him." "These testimonials are from reliable people, if you'll have the good grace to read them." "His Spiritual Guide defends him fiercely." "I don't doubt it." "The relationship between Father Benedetto and Padre Pio is a typical "master-slave" one." "Might Padre Pio have swayed Father Benedetto?" "Yes." "Yes, I noticed this personally when I examined his wounds." "But, really~" "You saw the stigmatas?" "Yes." "I examined them attentively." "I wouldn't call them stigmatas." "What's your opinion?" "I believe we can speak about stigmatas and their supernatural origin only in the case of St. Francis." "As for the others, the diagnosis of hysteria is well founded." "Hysteria..." "Even Padre Pio's wounds have been made market of within the monastery." "There are those who steal the bloody bandages, and then sell them." "Oh, please!" "Father Gemelli's testimony is shocking." "His accusations serious." "We must be careful." "Why do they want to transfer me?" "It's never wrong to obey." "Is what they say about me true?" "They say they want to transfer me to Marche, or even to Spain." "They've told me." "But you're not to blame for the trouble caused by those who come here to visit." "They hope to resolve things by sending you away." "When I came to San Giovanni Rotondo," "I... thought I'd never leave this land." "But then..." "I'll see some of the world." "Can I write you?" "I can no longer be your Spiritual Guide." "I can have no relationship with you, not even correspondence." "I can't even write you?" "No." "But I..." "I need you." "I believe we will not see each other... ever again." "Father Benedetto..." "It was like the loss of a parent." "Besides, Padre Pio and Father Benedetto used to exchange letters of the highest spiritual value." "which ceased." "The measures were strict, but at that time seemingly necessary." "However, a friend of Padre Pio's arrived in his place" "Father Agostino from San Marco in Lamis, who had known him for many years and had had him as a student." "How long it's been." "Yes, a long time." "You can go, Michele." "Go." "I've come personally from Foggia because new orders have just arrived and I thought it correct that someone you know very well should be the one to tell you." "You've come to take me away." "You already knew." "You always read the heart." "Are you ready to follow me even now?" "When I'm in the hands of one of my superiors," "I feel in the hands of God." "What's happening?" "Where is he going?" "What's going on?" "Where are they taking you?" "Everybody, what did I tell you?" "This monk from outside wants to take him away." "Settle down!" "You've always been people who've never hurt anyone." "Go back calmly to your homes, and please, without hurting anyone." "No, I'm sorry." "They treat you like a criminal." "Where do you want to take him?" "Padre Pio belongs to us." "I'll kill him!" "So he'll stay here forever!" "Get your hands off me!" "Padre Pio!" "Come with us!" "Come on!" "Michele, who wants to take Padre Pio away?" "Padre Pio isn't leaving here!" "Keep it down!" "Townspeople!" "Townspeople, I'm with you." "Calm down!" "I've already sent telegrams of protest to the highest religious and civil authorities." "What authorities?" "The Lord has given us Padre Pio and no one will ever take him from us." "But go back home." "Put your weapons down!" "So they'll come back and they'll take him again?" "Right!" "I've given our men the order to stay here and keep watch day and night." "If they see Padre Pio being taken away, they'll sound the siren as warning." "We don't trust you." "Should we trust you?" "You know me." "You don't want to stay here, gun-in-hand for a lifetime?" "Go back home, listen to me!" "We're here." "Peppino, show them." "Sound the siren." "If he can't be transferred, then he should be kept away from people." "It's the only way to end this fanaticism which surrounds him." "Perhaps, Father Gemelli, you should speak directly with the Holy Father, given the friendship which exists between you." "I will, but the Holy Congregation must continue its intervention." "It's not an easy context." "Do you really suggest isolation?" "Of course, for several months and in a suitable place, monitored by a capable physician." "What is it?" "Father Agostino is in the sacristy." "He says he has to see you." "All right." "The Holy Office has made a statement." "They say the stigmatas are not of supernatural origin." "They will invite the faithful to behave accordingly." "Moreover, they've taken all ministering rights away from you." "You can no longer confess, and you can only celebrate Mass in the monastery... in absolute privacy." "You must understand." "All this has been done for the civil order, to prevent certain forms of fanaticism." "If these stigmatas... are denied by the Church to be a gift from God... then I've been fooling myself." "I'm guilty of arrogance to the point of believing myself..." "to be someone marked by the Hand of God." "These..." "These are terrible thoughts for me, but when they leave me I feel even worse." "Father, isn't doubting God an even more serious fault?" "It was a terrible period for him." "Poor Padre Pio." "He must have suffered very much." "Especially in the beginning." "Then the Lord sustained him and he adapted." "What did he write you during that time?" "Was he always humble, docile, even in private?" "Yes, he never made the least complaint." "He even came to joke about his situation." "He said this meant less work and more merit for him." "But he suffered." "He suffered for the souls who came to see him and that he couldn't confess." "Who's there?" "What's going on?" "Let's go." "Is someone there?" "Come on." "Father Antonio!" "Father Nicola!" "This way!" "What's she doing here?" "Who's there?" "Padre Nicola!" "What was that?" "Someone was calling." "I heard some noise too." "Father Antonio, why are you up at this hour?" "There was a woman with Padre Pio." "He let her out the front door." "A woman with Padre Pio?" "Here he comes." "I can only swear." "I never opened the door of the monastery or the church to let a woman in." "You swear, but someone swears the opposite." "In all my life the only woman I ever kissed was my mother." "Then there's the testimony of my conscience before God." "So those that accuse you are lying?" "Of course, they're all lies!" "I think that we should feel sorry for these people." "We should forgive them." "I'm praying a lot for them." "I said to the Lord:" ""Lord, do you think clobbering me will make these people return to the flock?" "All right, then clobber me so they may be saved."" "Of course, we've been lovers for years." "He tried to leave me, but he can't live without me." "I've been entering the monastery for years, but we do it without malice." "So you can describe Padre Pio's cell, number 5?" "There's a beautiful easy-chair, and gold reliefs on the ceiling." "I've been there hundreds of nights." "Once I brought our eldest son." "Your son?" "Yes, he's 5 now, and already has the calling." "Do you have other children?" "Another, 2 years old." "Father Agostino, are we joking?" "Perhaps..." "I'm not sure yet." "How could you?" "How could you slander a brother who is already the object of gossip?" "You, who've known him for so long and claim to be his friend." "I couldn't have imagined before witnessing personally that there could be such a tangle of vipers around Padre Pio." "Can't you see that woman has been manipulated?" "I want to do everything possible to establish the truth." "I'll take this to the Holy See." "Who is it?" "Father Antonio." "Come in." "Padre Pio..." "I'm leaving today." "I've asked to be transferred to another monastery." "What are you doing?" "I beg your forgiveness." "I've already forgiven you." "Your Holiness, the fanaticism which surrounds Padre Pio is only just now dying down, but could easily flare up again." "The decisions taken must be upheld." "And yet, Padre Pio's new Spiritual Guide has sent us solid documentation in his defense." "I, too, have produced solid documentation on him." "I don't question the man, but what he represents." "It's the expression of the Faith of another era." "If Padre Pio returns to attracting masses of fanatics, as only he knows how with that seraphic air~" "Father!" "You say you don't question the man, and still it sounds like something personal." "No." "It's only for the Church's good, that I appeal to your justice and severity." "By now the time is ripe for his transfer." "This would take care of everything." "I must reflect." "Come, everyone, hurry!" "What is it?" "Padre Pio can serve Mass in church!" "My little girl will have her trousseau, twelve sheets edged with the Assisi-stitch and Venice-stitch, two tablecloths edged in lace." "Even though it's tiring I'll do it gladly." "Thank you, but you shouldn't bother." "Are you joking?" "Fine traditions should be respected, even if young people would like to do away with them." "What's the matter?" "I had a few doubts, so I went to a specialist." "My mother had great difficulty having me." "She couldn't have other children." "There's something in our family." "He prescribed these tests." "You want to have children so much." "You must feel free." "I can't expect you to make this sacrifice." "This changes everything." "This changes nothing." "But you wanted children." "I have you." "And your mother has nearly finished the trousseau." "We can't pull out now." "Promise me something that will make you angry." "As soon as possible, I'd like to go to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio now that he's no longer in isolation." "Please." "But I'm just the driver." "My mother has been ill for two years." "She's waiting for your word." "What can I tell her?" "That Padre Pio has been ill for ten." "Padre Pio, the Lord has to make me well!" "It's written in the Holy Scriptures that Our Lord heals who has a broken heart, and binds the wounds." "But the wounds remain." "They're here." "We must learn to bear pain." "Understand?" "What did he says to you?" "Nothing." "Let's return to the hotel." "Why?" "Confession is beginning." "It'll take hours." "Doctor, Padre Pio reminds you he's waiting." "I'll go with you." "You're a doctor and I'm a priest." "We both can understand how great the reality of pain is." "It's as vast as the world." "We can't stand by indifferently." "I want to build a great hospital, with one thousand beds." "I want to build it here." "Do you have a vague idea what it means to build a large hospital?" "I know that to build and organize it, you have to help me." "Maybe you forget I'm a general practitioner." "I have my office~" "You are the right person." "We've met only a few times." "We hardly know each other." "To build and organize it will take time." "It won't be easy." "To stay close to me it might be necessary to find a house in the vicinity of San Giovanni Rotondo." "What?" "My wife and I already have a house in Tuscany... with a mortgage." "I know, but I know something else too." "Money isn't important to you, right?" "That's true." "Money counts nothing." "If I could, I'd carry the suffering of everyone, but for every one I manage to save, there's always another I lose." "Often, everything I've studied is to no avail." "I envy you." "You believe something exists after death." "I believe that..." "there's nothing." "Look what Our Lord did." "He sent His only Son to sacrifice Himself for us." "He answered our dilemma not with words, but with concrete significance, His presence among us." "That's not true." "There's no sense of justice in that." "But the answer is there and it's simple." "The answer is love." "We can't take pain away, but we can alleviate it." "This hospital has to be big... big, but it..." "also has to be a home." "Home for Relief of Suffering.." "that's what we'll call it." "To help the patients' pain we'll use science and charity, someone like me and someone like you." "Let's stop talking about it." "Father, don't you understand?" "I don't believe in God." "But God believes in you." "Your Eminence, you can imagine how precious to me are Padre Pio's letters." "Padre Pio was a great soul." "I'll return them after I read them." "No." "Keep them." "I entrust them to you." "I'd rather you have them." "Thank you." "You hardly know me." "It's easy to recognize a sincere man." "The pillars of Padre Pio's work are the Home for Relief, and his prayer groups, begun after a heartfelt call by Pius XII." "And whose seeds still bear so much fruit." "So, you and your husband decided to go work on the construction of the Home for Relief after a meeting between Guglielmo and Padre Pio'" "Yes, it was a sudden decision." "We moved to San Giovanni Rotondo, and work began in May of 1947." "Three, two, one..." "There were very few of us." "To build a hospital in a place like that seemed a crazy thing." "But we trusted in Padre Pio." "He had the strength of Faith and encouraged us continuously." "He said Divine Providence would help build so great a work." "Come on, get to work, let's go, let's go!" "We need some muscle here!" "No!" "You'll explode the mine!" "Dig the hole there!" "That's it." "Good!" "Get to work!" "St. Francis spoke to animals." "Let's hope Padre Pio is able to speak to him." "He yells, but is good natured." "And miraculously from all over the world a stream of offers began to flow in." "Whoever could, gave himself to Padre Pio." "Others sent letters." "Many gave, and not only the faithful." "Most offerings came from the poor." "We gave account of every lira received in a bulletin we sent to those who had given something." "Father Nicola, have him read this letter!" "Grant a favor!" "In just a while." "Father, please, save my son." "Grant a favor!" "Please, a husband for my daughter." "Do you want to marry?" "Yes." "You're too young." "What do you want?" "Who?" "You, you, you!" "Get out." "Why?" "Don't you know that he who stains his hands with the blood of murder is like Cain?" "Get out!" "Get out!" "Look where you're going!" "How are you?" "Come on." "You have to rest, please." "Father!" "Please, Padre Pio is tired." "Go on." "I'll take care of this." "Father, it's true that I wanted to kill my wife." "My wife is a follower of yours." "She was supposed to confess to you this evening." "I made the arrangements." "Here in San Giovanni Rotondo no one knows us, so I thought I'd take her to an isolated place tonight and then..." "And they bury her there." "I'd have said she ran off with someone else." "No one would have looked for her." "And we have no children." "You can't have any." "I know that." "Father, how do you know that?" "No one would have found me out." "It was a secret pact between the devil and me." "Sometimes, Padre, certain thoughts come." "Well... what do you want from me?" "What are you looking for?" "I don't know." "What do you want?" "I don't know." "I don't know how you can read inside me like you do." "I don't know what made me return here, to ask your forgiveness, to kneel before you." "I've sinned so much!" "Not only this." "Now it seems that... you'd like to begin again." "Yes... yes." "I know that you'd like to go back." "Look into my eyes." "Stop offending the Lord... and you'll have a child." "Thank you, Father." "Thank you." "What's the matter with me?" "Pleurisy, in theory." "But you have atypical symptoms." "For example this fever." "Anyway, absolute rest." "It won't be an easy recovery." "Do the... wounds continue to hurt you?" "May I change your bandages..." "or are you afraid I'll sell them?" "Here." "I trust you." "Sorry." "Suffering is inevitable." "These wounds give me so much pain, so much suffering." "But... it's thanks to the pain" "I got the idea to build the Home for Relief." "I still don't... understand why I gave up everything and came here." "Every so often I think I've gone mad." "But, I think I've done the right thing, but I still don't understand why." "Faith..." "Faith..." "Either you accept Faith, admitting man's limits before the great mystery of God, or you refuse it." "There are no compromises." "All right." "We need to do some tests." "In the meantime, stay in bed and rest, don't move." "I have the Stations of the Cross." "I promised." "They'll do without you, alright?" "My feet hurt." "Want to give me the cross?" "No." "I'll give it to this young priest." "Is Padre Pio always so available to others?" "He's been like that for 30 years." "I saw that he listened to many brothers." "Some take so much patience!" "Does he suffer daily from the stigmatas?" "Yes, he suffers every day, but says that Jesus Christ gives us the strength before sending us the cross." "Jesus gives the strength before sending us the cross." "That's true." "Come here!" "He's calling you." "Come here." "Give me the cross." "Go ahead." "Come, come." "I want to speak to you." "Certainly, Father." "You're a foreign priest." "Where do you come from?" "Tell me about yourself." "Did that priest come from Rome?" "Yes, he was recently ordained." "We study together at the Angelicum." "He's not Italian." "Where's he from?" "Poland." "His name is Karol Wojtyla." "I've come from Poland to study at the Angelicum..." "It was the Holy Father?" "I didn't know he knew Padre Pio." "No one knew it until today." "It was him." "He stayed until the next morning." "He and Padre Pio spoke for a long time." "The future Pope confessed to Padre Pio." "Guglielmo and I felt good at San Giovanni Rotondo right away." "We took a house not far from the building site." "We set up a small infirmary in one of the rooms, to care for the most urgent cases." "Our time was divided between the infirmary and the building site." "Thank you for what you're doing for us." "You shouldn't have!" "It's ready." "I'll call the workers." "Lunch is ready!" "Not all the people we encountered were our friends." "This is the building site." "Let's go." "Hello, Father." "Hello." "Would you like to join us?" "No, thank you." "Excuse the interruption." "Our provincial treasurer, Father Graziano, would like to have a few words with you, Doctor Lupi." "The Home for Relief receives offerings continuously, but I don't understand why we should invest them." "Because my conditions are unbeatable." "Money earns 50% with me, in advance." "So much?" "!" "The original sum goes back to the investor after one year." "All perfectly legal!" "This man is a highly trustworthy person." "He administers the money of many religious institutions." "They call him 'God's banker'." "I brought him, aware of your continuous economic problems." "A work like yours should be helped." "Thank you, Father." "Moreover, I'm able to assure an income of 90% to those who present people interested in investing." "Padre Pio has many spiritual children." "Speak to him." "You'll see he'll thank you." "He says he'd be honored to have you among his clients." "Even with a token amount." "Very kind." "But you see, Angelo..." "honestly, I don't buy his story." "Our work, like the Home for Relief, was born out of charity and I believe it should be upheld with charity." "Let's go on as we always have- with the offerings." "Offerings aren't endless!" "The conditions are really attractive." "No." "I say no." "And let me tell you something." "Whoever lends money, not only wants it back, but wants to control." "Understand?" "But our Home for Relief... must be controlled by Heaven." "Good day." "Good day." "Is Padre Pio here?" "Yes." "He's up there, over the emergency room." "That's an emergency room?" "What are you building?" "A hospital." "Really, a hospital?" "Seems strange." "Anyway, we'll have to stop in a few days because the money... has run out." "How much would you need to finish?" "How much?" "400 million lire?" "Who pays for it?" "Whoever passes by, pays." "Can't believe it." "Where's the pick?" "What did you tell her?" "How do I know what money is needed?" "Since he found out he's going to be a father, he's soft as a grape!" "As of next month we won't have the money to pay the workers." "We have to stop here." "We'll see." "Let's go on for now." "Excuse me, I know you're having a discussion." "But I have a flight to London tomorrow." "I'm a journalist." "Have a good trip." "No, no..." "I'm not here for work." "I'm doing a report on the Italian economy." "I've heard a lot about you..." "about your miracles." "If you've heard a lot about me, you'll know I never tire of saying that Padre Pio doesn't work miracles, God does." "I'm a Catholic, but my fiancee is a Protestant." "He's an honest man, and he's part of the reconstruction effort." "I want to marry him, but..." "I'd do it only if he'd become a Catholic." "It's very important to me." "That is what I'd like you to grant." "My dear girl..." "If God wills it, it'll be granted." "Yes..." "But when?" "When?" "Whenever God wills it, even now." "Alright?" "Take care." "I was saying, next month there'll be no money to pay the workers." "Furthermore, we still have to pay for the materials, the transport, the cement..." "We need a lot of money." "Padre Pio, we need a miracle." "Guglielmo, Rosaria's not well!" "What is it?" "She's covered with blood!" "The baby!" "Take her inside, to our room." "Run!" "Call Doctor Iodice too!" "Emilia, start boiling lots of water." "Right away." "We'll have to do a Cesarean." "I'm afraid." "It's nothing." "Padre Pio's here!" "It's him!" "Emilia, have clean sheets ready and boil more water." "Right away." "I'm so afraid!" "Rosaria, lay back." "Relax, don't be afraid." "She's in risk of losing the baby." "She may even die." "Father!" "Help me!" "I can't do this!" "That's why I came." "Give me a chair." "How you suffer, my child!" "I'll just sit here quietly, near you, and pray." "If need be, I'll ask Our Lord... to take me, instead of you." "or your little girl." "But I think Our Lord won't find it necessary." "A girl!" "Father, your words are to give me courage." "Help me not to leave the baby alone." "I suffer too, to see children without their mothers." "But now you..." "Must be strong." "Okay?" "Good." "You must have faith." "Good." "Father, with you here, I'm ready to go to Paradise." "Good God, enough of Paradise!" "What's the hurry?" "My daughter must live." "If you go to Paradise, I... will stop praying." "You will stay here." "Excuse me, Padre Pio." "You'll stay here and be a mother." "You'll see your daughter grow... and marry." "Alright?" "Take a deep breath." "Good." "How beautiful she is!" "The baby is fine, but Rosaria has to stay here for a couple of days." "Thank you, Padre Pio." "What a nice voice she has." "What name will you give her?" "Why not Pia?" "Pia, We want to call her Pia." "Thank you." "You take her." "We should thank Guglielmo." "She's beautiful." "She's a marvelous child." "Grow in health, in virtue and to old age." "Nicola, let the other baby come forth too." "Come closer." "Father, you are truly a saint." "Who authorized you to build this clinic?" "Don Mino, run!" "They've come to arrest you!" "Hurry!" "May I help you?" "Guglielmo Sanguinetti, surgeon." "I'm from Internal Affairs." "When did you begin this hospital?" "What's going on?" "The government received a message from UNRRA, approving the appropriation of 400 million lire for the construction of the hospital here." "I imagine this is, or will be, it." "We knew nothing of this in Rome." "Four hundred million lire?" "It's an absurd amount!" "The UNRRA office in London telegraphed us yesterday." "I don't understand." "That woman... the journalist who came here, wasn't she from London?" "Of course, we don't know anyone else in London." "Her fiancee was an important man in the reconstruction effort." "Yes, she wrote me from London." "She told me in the letter that on the same day and at the same time, she was here to speak about her fiancee, he was in London deciding to be baptized." "They were wed." "How nice they look." "Then she wrote they'd send a gift as a souvenir." "A gift." "And what a gift!" "Providence helped us." "Remember that we must thank Our Lord and Our Lady, the Holy Virgin." "Lay down." "Arrange the pillows." "We must do our part too." "I don't trust Rome." "We must keep an eye on the papers." "Correct, the ministry representative said we have to legalize the project." "Tell me." "Are you familiar with Rome?" "Yes." "Then you must leave right away." "Leave, and don't come back.... ...without the money." "Alright." "A doctor as mason, a teacher as cook, a design engineer without a degree!" "I don't see how Padre Pio can surround himself with such people." "The design engineer of the hospital doesn't have a degree?" "No." "This came to light just now, because they were forced to legalize the situation." "This way we discredit the Order's good name!" "We must intervene." "These incompetents must go, and this is the right moment." "What's the physician's name, the headstrong one?" "Oh, Sanguinetti." "He's in Rome while Padre Pio is ill." "Again?" "He's always sick." "With all the blood he says he loses, even though it's something serious this time." "Pneumonia." "He's always ill." "He can't run the hospital project." "We must do something so this work isn't lost." "I agree, but it won't be easy to put Padre Pio aside." "He's hard-headed, refuses delegation." "I've known him for years." "But the 400 million lire on the way is earmarked explicitly for the hospital and won't be at our disposal." "There is a way." "We can become the Home for Relief." "Padre Pio owes me obedience and I'll decree that experts should administer the money." "You're leaving the monastery." "What about the new Father Guardian?" "He might feel differently." "Father Tommaso?" "He's an ex-student of mine." "He'll listen to me." "The important thing is to head him in the right direction." "There are some who bring to the religious community their misery, their greed, their ambition." "While many humble sincere people sought Padre Pio, those who should have been the first to understand, persecuted him." "This is Padre Pio's cell." "We've transferred him to the guest quarters to treat him better." "He causes such commotion." "It's quite a responsibility having someone so famous in the community." "You'll find out." "Why?" "Padre Pio has always been a great worry with the rumors which circulate about him." "I fear there might be some truth to them, and that's why I ask you to be watchful- especially regarding the vows of chastity and poverty." "With all the money he manages, it's easy to lose one's head." "I've been considering preventive measures which you might enact." "It's about preventing him and his friends from running the Home for Relief." "We'll see, but you said he may have broken his vow of chastity." "He's always in contact with pretty young women, in particular with his collaborator's wife." "It seems they meet secretly in the monastery at night." "But in the past he was acquitted on such accusations." "What worries me..." "is the present." "Do you think you'll go?" "You know what's happened?" "I can't withdraw the money from the offerings anymore." "A monk will bring it to the site every two months." "Who decided that?" "I don't know." "I don't understand either, but if I find who~" "Hold your temper!" "What's the matter?" "Padre Pio's condition is worse." "He's so ill he has asked for the Last Rites." "Go... call Guglielmo." "I want to say goodbye." "Sorry, he needs tranquility." "Tell Guglielmo to come right away." "Immediately!" "All right." "Excuse me." "Thank you, Holy Virgin." "I feel better." "You gave me a real scare." "You continue to surprise me." "I took a look at your tests, and they indicated full-fledged pneumonia." "This seesawing between illness and health in theoreticaly impossible." "But you..." "It wasn't easy in Rome, but I did it." "The authorization to withdraw money." "I had to have the project signed by an engineer." "To rectify the whole situation, with fines and such, over 150 mil. lire will be spent." "It's legalized robbery." "The important thing is to get going on the site again." "It's not so simple." "While you were ill, an unthinkable thing happened." "Now that you're well, we'll resolve it together." "What happened?" "Father Guardian?" "Padre Pio." "I'm sorry... but they really make me angry." "Now, I don't know who has taken the money for the construction of the Home for Relief from Dr. Sanguinetti and Angelo Lupi, all of a sudden." "I'd like to know who's responsible for this arrogance." "I'm the one responsible for this decision." "You... surely... have... a valid reason." "Forgive me." "I... must..." "I must obey, Father Guardian" "Rather, I want to obey." "What came over you?" "They plot and you turn away?" "Don't you see you must attack to defend yourself?" "You must be patient." "Don't you think of Emilia and me?" "Of all the things we've done?" "They want to kick us out!" "What else should we do?" "After all the time spent working for the hospital, we throw it all away?" "I don't want to build anything on hate." "But the Home..." "I can't have children..." "and you know that." "It's like you couldn't celebrate Mass anymore." "I feel crippled, incomplete." "Yes, incomplete." "With the Home I thought I'd be leaving something- my inheritance." "And instead..." "Instead?" "Instead we must learn to wait." "We must know how to obey." "I don't know how to obey." "I know how to fight!" "Trust him." "Don't you think I suffer for not being able to have children?" "Maybe even more than you." "It's not by placing your hope in something, even as noble as the Home for Relief, that you can deceive yourself to be a parent." "So everyting we've done was useless?" "On the contrary!" "He who loves others' destiny and works for others' happiness is the true mother or father." "Look at Padre Pio." "He is father to thousands of people, because he loves them totally, from his heart." "This is always possible, even without the Home for Relief." "I don't want these monks to have the satisfaction of kicking me out." "I'll leave!" "Things will work out." "When?" "Damn the day I got involved in this thing." "I'll never set foot in the monastery or the site again." "Guglielmo, please~" "Enough!" "I don't want to discuss it further." "He'd never felt so offended." "He was very angry and we argued." "He kept his promise." "He went back to being a physician." "I didn't know all these things." "Who could have imagined?" "Did Padre Pio really give up?" "No, he continued to fight." "But in his own way." "In the fourth glorious mystery we contemplate the assumption of the Holy Virgin to Heaven." "In every monastery, when there is doubt about the goodness and necessity of an initiative, the Father Guardian speaks about it to the two eldest monks." "In this case Father Nicola and Padre Pio." "It's the family council." "Does it have powers of decision?" "No, but it can advise." "Father Guardian decides." "Then why worry?" "Father Tommaso agrees with us." "Yes, but if he's having one, that means he's not sure." "Padre Pio wants the council to be held tomorrow." "You know what he said?" ""That way each of us will have the time to reflect before God."" "That doesn't seem like bad advice." "Are you listening to me?" "What's wrong?" "Excuse me." "I'm a little tired." "I must go at once to San Giovanni Rotondo." "Could you drive me there?" "Yes, of course." "I must convince Father Tommaso." "Thank you." "Come in." "Am I disturbing you?" "Father Guardian." "I've come to my decision." "It's useless having a family council." "As you like." "I've reflected at length before God." "I find what we did to you was unjust." "Father, what are you doing?" "The money will be managed by your collaborators." "I've decided to speak in your favour." "I hope the decision arrives soon." "Who could it be at this hour?" "I don't know." "Father Elia!" "Father!" "Forgive me." "We're gathered in this place reserved for prayer to put the right emphasis on the provision of the Holy See to which you all must conform readily... and with joy." "His Holiness, Pius XII, considering the Home for Relief of Suffering as the fruit of one of the loftiest intuitions, of an ideal born from contact with the suffering of humanity," "and placing full trust in padre Pio of Pietrelcina, invites him to personally take charge of the hospital and dispenses him from the vow of poverty." "This is a dispensation which no Capuchin has ever had." "An exceptional event in the history of the Church." "Listen, sir." "Orders which regard us have just come from the Holy See." "No man of the Church may have dealings with you again." "I must obey." "I'm sorry." "Good, good." "It's really true." "He who suffers, also conquers." "We must also suffer at the hand of a brother, but in the end the light of Christ triumphs, resplendent." "In that moment it seemed all had ended for the best." "Dispensation from the vow of poverty gave Padre Pio complete freedom to oversee the Home for Relief." "No one could ever attack him again." "And the money lender, shortly after, went bankrupt." "Your husband went back to the building site?" "He had lost his trust." "Hard-headed as he was, he continued to work in the infirmary." "There was only one way to make peace between Padre Pio and him." "I suggested it." "Take five drops and don't overdo." "Thank you, doctor." "Father Nicola, what's the matter?" "Good day, Guglielmo." "Padre Pio isn't very well, you might say." "I'd say it's nothing serious." "Your sufferings are normal." "Anyway, you know where to find me." "Do you still have a tongue?" "See how awful it is when a friend is silent." "And these?" "Who gave these to you?" "The big-name physicians!" "Good!" "They're all wrong." "Remember that you must take only half the prescribed dosage." "You laugh." "What's so funny?" "Better a mouse between two cats, than a patient between two doctors." "I see." "This time around... you have no illness." "I had to act a role to call a doctor and find my friend again." "Keep up the work!" "Keep working." "No time to waste." "I have to confess." "Sometimes I spy on them a little, but seen from here, it's so different." "You wouldn't come so I had to lure you." "How long will it take?" "You're never satisfied." "We've just put the ground floor walls up." "It'll take months." "How many?" "We have to see how many offerings come in." "How much longer will it take?" "A few years." "My goodness!" "And in the meantime?" "What will the patients do?" "While we're here..." "Why not make an infirmary here?" "I want it bigger than yours, equipped for emergencies." "What do you say?" "Yes, why not?" "It could be done." "Just need a couple of rooms and the right equipment." "Sure." "Where we won't be in the way." "We can do that." "Good to hear." "How long will it take?" "A couple of months at least." "Guglielmo, as for the equipment..." "I want the best, the best on the market." "You're so beautiful." "And you?" "Get moving." "The patients can't wait." "In spite of his enthusiasm," "Padre Pio was often ill, mostly due to the lies spread by those who were envious of his material and spiritual work." "He had a true passion." "His nearness to the Saviour's own suffering makes that evident." "Even when he was ill, Padre Pio continued his work." "Can't tell about this one..." "Then there's the Capitular Vicar from Cracow." "Karol..." "Wojtyla?" "Yes." "What does he say?" "Should I read it?" "Yes." "It's in Latin." "I'll try to translate it." ""Venerable Father," "I ask you to pray for a mother with four children who lives in Cracow, in Poland." "During the last war she spent five years in German concentration camps, and now she is in serious danger because of a cancer." "Pray, so that God, with the intervention of the Holy Virgin, have mercy on her and her family." "Most obliged in Christ, Karol Wojtyla."" "Nicola..." "We can't say no to him." "Let's pray." "Were those his exact words?" "Eleven days later another letter arrived, in Latin and from Karol Wojtyla, like the first." "Pio." "Here is today's mail." "If you're too tired we'll read them tomorrow." "The Capitular Vicar from Cracow has written again." "I'll read it." ""Venerable Father, the woman living in Cracow, mother of four children, on the 21st of November, before scheduled surgery," "was suddenly healed." "Thanks be to God and also to you, Venerable Father." "I hereby send you great thanks on behalf of the woman, her husband and her entire family." "In Christ, Karol Wojtyla."" "Nicola..." "Put this letter away." "Also the other one he sent us before." "One day they'll be very important." "That's exactly what he said word for word." "I'm astounded!" "The doctors were too." "At the final examination before the operation, the surgeon found no trace of the disease." "It was gone." "And your infirmary?" "What happened?" "We kept working." "Thanks to God and in spite of many difficulties we were able to inaugurate at least the infirmary according to Padre Pio's will." "We did it!" "As of today the infirmary is open to the suffering, the poor and all those who are destitute, guaranteeing the same treatment to all." "I want to thank you, generous friends, because thanks to you all this is possible today." "Thousands of things in Italy are begun and after fearful waste of public funds, they've become hideous white elephants." "But here, on a mountain where everything was lacking, a work will soon be erected to rival the most modern structures, without State financing, without debts, without the help of public or religious institutions." "Exception made, as you all know, for Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, who gave their help in a moment of difficulty." "We were born poorest of the poor, and this is a stunning paradox, which has... attracted the love, and... the help of many, believers and non-believers." "Frankly, I hope that this paradox will have a long life, but above all, may the person who made this possible have long life" "Padre Pio." "If I may..." "We must always thank Our Lord." "Remember Our Lord." "We must also thank our benefactors, those near and far." "And then..." "Nicola, give me a hand." "The instruments of Providence." "Guglielmo, my dear... you've given me your whole self for this work and, I might say, your soul too." "Angelo... even if sometimes... the wheels didn't roll the right way, yet, you always pulled through." "Good job, Angelo." "As for the doctors," "I'd like to give you a special word of advice." "When you give medicine to your patients, most of all to the children, add a few drops of love." "Without this, medicine serves little." "Now each of us must return to his duty, because we've traveled only one leg of our journey." "There's so much to do." "We mustn't stop." "Rather, you mustn't stop." "It's true, my children." "You did it all." "We know that you... didn't really do anything." "I'm not sure..." "I have the feeling something's missing." "What more do you want?" "Right, Nicola?" "Guglielmo, the flowers!" "Yes, I want flowers." "In the workplace and above all in the wards." "Write this down." "Padre Pio wants fresh flowers, always." "May Jesus be praised." "Now to work." "Wait!" "We have more questions!" "Remember, we have to fill all of this space in front." "They'll grow lush." "We're planting fast-growing trees." "So the patients looking out the window won't see a bare mountain, but a sea of green." "You did well." "How many..." "How many have you planted?" "Only ten, so far." "But I'm planning on ten thousand." "Ten thousand?" "Ten thousand.." "You don't do things halfway." "I thought it was the minimum number to cover the mountain." "But if you think it's too many..." "No, no!" "Let there be ten thousand." "Many!" "Together with fresh flowers?" "Yes." "Now you know God." "Now." "He is love, you know?" "These photos came in this morning." "Once again, they accuse him of an impure relationship with the wife of one of his collaborators." "He should be virtually a prisoner, or worse, of this group of women." "We don't accept anonymous denouncements." "We won't even consider these." "But a formal complaint has arrived against this group of women." "It states they spy the confessional, commenting aloud whether the Father gives absolution or not." "There also arrived a formal complaint from a Roman priest who often goes to San Giovanni Rotondo, claiming that the Home for Relief is being mishandled, casting doubt on the collaborators' honesty." "These are serious matters." "But they come from a priest who's in grave difficulty with his activity in Rome." "Perhaps, since he's nearly ruined, he wants to destroy Padre Pio's work." "To what end?" "Maybe I know." "Discrediting the Father, he hopes to... take over the Home for Relief, along with its offerings." "Possibly." "And then merge the administration with that of his own work, which is economically shaky." "And, there's more." "The Bishop again." "Now he's reporting alleged departure from doctrine by Padre Pio." "The Father is supposedly idolized by his spiritual children." "Some say his charisma is greater than that of the Church." "He's accused of fomenting a schism." "Some people say you want to create a new community of monks, with seat in the Home for Relief." "Father Guardian, I have no words to reply to this infamy." "Why involve the Home for Relief?" "My blood is in each of those stones." "There's a whirl of madness encircling you." "I'm worried." "Many accuse you, for different reasons." "I don't even want to know them, or know who they are." "I love everyone, I forgive everyone." "I only want to pray, to confess." "I understand it's not much, but that's all I know how to do." "You should at least defend yourself from the accusation of schism." "Schism!" "I... don't understand..." "anything of the Church... except... except obedience." "The Church is Mother, understand?" "The Church is..." "The Church is my mother!" "Padre Pio!" "He's not well!" "What should we do?" "Let's take him out." "There's a lot of pleural fluid." "He needs it drawn out and he needs an oxygen mask." "Guglielmo..." "I'm here." "Take me... to my cell." "I want to die there." "Why hurry?" "Please." "All right, I promise." "I'll take you as soon as you're better." "He's had a heart attack." "We'll follow the normal procedures, but I already know that medicine isn't of much use with him." "It can even be harmful." "By now I know that with him, it's never the same as with other patients." "Well then, what to do?" "Your Eminence, excuse me." "I know you are handling the case of Padre Pio." "I have here 300 testimonials on him, gathered without coercion." "I'd like you to take them." "It's alright." "I know the man." "You may think I'm wrongly interfering in Church matters, but I assure you, it's not so." "This certainly isn't conventional procedure." "Padre Pio isn't a conventional case." "How is the Father?" "Between life and death." "Now that his dream, the Home for Relief, is about to become a reality." "Death always comes when least expected." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Come see!" "She's here!" "Is it really her?" "How did she get here from Fatima?" "By helicopter." "She's going all over Italy." "The Holy Virgin of Fatima is here!" "Holy Virgin, you are so beautiful." "You're leaving me and going away." "My Holy Virgin." "Look!" "There's Padre Pio." "Padre Pio!" "He's well!" "Long live Padre Pio!" "The Holy Virgin healed him!" "Our Lady granted a favor!" " A miracle!" "Padre Pio's sudden healing has prompted incredulous comments from many religious officials." "They say he was already healed, that he pretended." "No, there are witnesses!" "He couldn't stand up." "He had no strength to talk." "We shouldn't exclude a miracle." "He was healed in that exact moment." "That malice rising around him worries me." "There's a tide of new, increasingly numerous accusations." "The Father must have heard of them and must be suffering for it." "The healing seems like a grace in the midst of a tempest." "May I make a suggestion?" "Of course." "It might be appropriate to send someone to San Giovanni Rotondo, an Apostolic visitor, to evaluate the work of the Father and refer back." "You'll be the one to go." "I needn't remind you of the delicate nature of the visit and the echo of Padre Pio's name." "The virtues of caution and resoluteness are required." "Things, they tell me, which you are well-equipped with." "You may go now." "I'll show you another room." "Does this seem an appropriate room for an Apostolic visitor?" "If it's not all right, there's Doctor Sanguinetti's office." "If the Doctor is willing." "He should be." "Where is it?" "This way." "Monsignor, I feel under surveillance, as if I'd committed some crime." "I'd like so much just to do my ministry, guiding souls with the necessary tranquility." "We've come here to... assure you this serenity." "You, Father, seem to have... a special fondness for a group of women" "which are always near you." "You know who I mean?" "Yes." "I bear them patiently..." "Poor women." "They do nothing wrong." "Hundreds of pilgrims come here daily." "Some are not able to see you." "There are so many." "I do what I can." "You dedicate your time, precious as it is.." "to these women?" "What can I do?" "I can't refuse anyone." "And the assiduous company of Dr. Sanguinetti's wife?" "You speak to her every day, without witnesses." "Be careful." "Don't be misled by those gossips." "Do you deny that you have a special fondness for her?" "No." "I love her like a daughter." "I've known her for many years." "The Lord entrusted her to me." "You confirm she is your dearest." "Yes." "Even Jesus had his best-loved." "Do you believe yourself to be Jesus?" "No, of course not!" "Why do you celebrate such long Masses, hours long?" "It's true." "I don't know." "I can't help it." "I admit that when I'm at the altar with Our Lord, it's so beautiful, I feel nearly beyond this world." "There's no self-interest?" "No!" "What self-interest?" "Do you realize there are people who idolize you?" "What can I do?" "I just do my duty." "If there are some lunatics" "Do you sincerely love the Church?" "Of course!" "Some say that you have a..." "special mission, a mandate known only to you and God." "Really?" "Who says so?" "Do you believe this?" "No!" "A power greater than the Roman Pontiff?" "I've never thought that." "You must tell me everything!" "I am!" "Are you willing to write a filial letter to the Holy Father, renewing sentiment of your absolute obedience?" "A letter to the Pope?" "Me?" "I have to write a letter to His Holiness?" "I don't know..." "if I'm able." "Sure..." "You're not able." "If you're not in bad faith, then you're an idiot!" "Father Gemelli was right in his appraisal." "Lupi!" "That's me." "He said the uproar which exists to worship Padre Pio at Mass is an unhealthy thing." "Let him say it." "He said that in Padre Pio there lives a sort of..." "What did he call it?" "Mystic sensualism!" "The devil of impurity might be within him." "I hope this man understands~" "Then he asked me... if Padre Pio and I..." "What?" "Enough of this!" "We work here!" "I refuse to listen to this!" "Get off it!" "Sanguinetti!" "I told him off..." "To his face!" "And he took it." "I know he's questioning all the people of the Home trying to find proof that you and I have become rich." "You and I, who've always spent a third of what is normally spent." "Guglielmo, calm down." "He says the expense for the 10,000 trees was madness." "He doesn't know the Forestry Dept." "gave them to us!" "His assistant goes to bars to gather rumors about you." "To bars!" "You, Padre Pio, must go there to this visitor, and clarify everything, immediately!" "Immediately!" "What do I tell him?" "The trial against Padre Pio is already over." "The ordinance just arrived from the Holy Office which concerns us all." "It was issued on the basis of the findings of the Apostolic visit." ""Distance shall be kept between Padre Pio's confessional and the faithful, thus impeding the abuse of persons who, during confessions are in a position to overhear the sacramental accusations." "Excessive assiduity of the devout shall be categorically avoided, especially by the devout women, to Padre Pio's confessional." "The schedule for the Holy Mass shall be changed daily." "Padre Pio is to celebrate it within the time usually employed by all devout priests." "That is, 30-40 minutes at most." "The Father is to avoid all contact with the faithful during his walk from the sacristy to his cell." "It is absolutely forbidden for the Father to receive women alone anywhere within the monastery."" "I'm sorry." "I feel..." "humiliated... suffocated in spirit." "Understand?" "Spied on!" "Why do my brothers treat me like this?" "Don't worry." "The Carabinieri will find out who planted the microphone." "It's someone who calls you a friend." "I have no desire for revenge." "Good heavens!" "I'll speak with my superior and he'll decide what's to be done." "How can you trust anyone anymore?" "I brought 300 testimonials on your behalf to Rome." "They've disappeared!" "Instead, that visitor arrived." "If I were you, I don't know what I'd do." "I'm so angry inside, that..." "For me, to depend and to obey... are glorious things." "It was a priest from Rome who put the microphone in your room." "He had already accused you with various statements." "I informed the Holy Father of this." "Even the Pontiff knows." "The Pope?" "Yes." "I've never seen him so cross." "He said "He who made the bed can now lie in it."" "It's very painful." "It was our duty to vigil, and we didn't do it enough." "Even the Apostolic visit, which should have shed light, added darkness instead." "I've come here personally to make up for so much incomprehension." "Your Eminence, I always had such trust." "I pray you accept this gift." "It's a small thing." "A rosary!" "I'm aware of your special devotion to the Holy Virgin." "From the Holy Father there comes a much greater gift." "All measures against you have been revoked." "By order of the Supreme Pontiff, everyone is to behave towards Padre Pio as if he were not bound by the vow of obedience." "First the vow of poverty, now also release from the vow of obedience." "It's never happened in the Order." "Father Guardian, Your Eminence," "I want to remain what I am- a simple Capuchin." "Give my thanks to Dr. Sanguinetti." "The gathering of the testimonials was a determining factor." "It gave voice to men of good will and it helped us reach the truth." "You've just finished your rounds and here you are!" "Angelo, I can hardly wait till it's finished." "Soon I'll come give a hand." "Make it fast." "We're almost done." "Let's go." "I'll show you." "We've already plastered in there." "Those are the operating rooms." "Remember the measurements you gave me for that piece of equipment with the strange name?" "I kept them to the millimeter." "It'll go there." "There..." "Good." "The other time you told me~" "Guglielmo, Guglielmo!" "What's the matter?" "Call Emilia!" "Can you breathe?" "The doctor's not well!" "What's wrong?" "Guglielmo is dying!" "Run!" "He's not well!" "Send somebody!" "My darling..." "Yes, I'm with you." "Emilia, my child." "Padre Pio..." "Padre Pio, have pity!" "I've never asked anything!" "A grace, Padre Pio." "Emilia, my dear, our lives are in the Lord's hands." "Please." "Jesus." "If I'd known..." "You'd have taken Guglielmo..." "I'd have torn him from You." "...I'd have torn him from You." "He was a justful man." "He had a noble soul." "He was an ear of wheat." "What did you say?" "Nothing." "How good this air is." "See these trees?" "Guglielmo planted all of them." "Guglielmo was an ear of wheat." "Do you know what we make with wheat?" "Yes." "What?" "Bread." "Bread is good, isn't it?" "Have you ever seen a field of ripe wheat?" "I don't know." "In a field of wheat there are some tall ears- luxuriant, beautiful." "And then there are some with their heads bowed." "If you touch those luxuriant ones, those a little vain, inside they're empty." "The bowed ears, though, are full of grains of wheat." "Vanity... is empty." "Only love fills the world." "Have faith in God." "To these words of Christ echoes the advice which the new Blessed one often repeated:" ""Surrender fully to the Divine Heart of Jesus like a child to the arms of its mother."" "Today I thank God for giving me the possibility for writing his name in the Register of the Blessed."