The Convents of Padre Pio

Where He Lived, Worked, and Prayed

By: Bret Thoman

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

It is said that one cannot fully know someone else without visiting the place where they grew up. This is also true of Padre Pio. Like us, the saints led human lives. They were not formed in a vacuum. Among parents and relatives, educators and catechists, and companions and confreres—their personalities, minds, and spiritualities were formed. In this unique work, a continuation of Following Padre Pio: A Journey of Discovery from Pietrelcina to San Giovanni Rotondo, author and Padre Pio expert Bret Thoman explores all the convents where Padre Pio lived. There are ten sites.

In 1903, young Francesco Forgione left his home in Pietrelcina at the age of fifteen and entered the Capuchin novitiate in Morcone. After making his first vows one year later, he was sent to the convent in Sant’Elia a Pianisi to begin studying philosophy. The next ten years were spent among various convents throughout the vast Capuchin Province of Sant’Angelo, interspersed with stints back home at Pietrelcina for health reasons. Fra Pio was sent to the Sanctuary of the Our Lady of the Mount in Campobasso (1905); San Marco la Catola (1905-06); Serracapriola (1907-08); Montefusco (autumn-winter, 1908); Gesualdo (1911); Venafro (October-December 7, 1911); and Foggia (1916). Finally, he ascended the Gargano Promontory, where he would live in the convent near San Giovanni Rotondo for fifty years until his death on September 23, 1968.

In this book, Padre Pio’s stays—some brief, some long—at each of these sites are described in detail. In exploring these sites, the author discovered that all the cells where Padre Pio lived have been preserved with vintage furnishings to make them look exactly like they were in the early twentieth century. The convents also boast museums with relics and artifacts from his life. This book includes numerous photographs of each site.

For those who are devoted to Padre Pio, this book is a must-read. It reveals Padre Pio in a deeper way. May this book be a blessing to everyone who ventures upon it.