Saint Of The Day September 23 – Saint Pio, Linus And St Thekla

September 23 – Saint Linus And St Thekla from the Saint of The Day– as read by the Sisters of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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In one of the largest such ceremonies in history, Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Pio of Pietrecina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul’s pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. “This is the most concrete synthesis of Padre Pio’s teaching,” said the pope. He also stressed Padre Pio’s witness to the power of suffering. If accepted with love, the Holy Father stressed, such suffering can lead to “a privileged path of sanctity.”

Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been cured of her life-threatening disease.

Born Francesco Forgione, Saint Pio of Pietrecina grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family income.