The prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, will preside at the celebration of the Eucharist to begin the exhibition, which will take place on 11 a.m. on June 1, at the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. All those who work with him in the dicastery will join him in pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo to venerate the remains of the saint. Concelebrating with the Cardinal will be Very Rev. Michele Castoro, Archbishop of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, Very Rev. Marcello Bartolucci, Secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and many priests, both Capuchins and diocesan.
The body of St. Pio of Pietrelcina will remain in the same place, namely in the center of the lower church dedicated to the saint, in a glass reliquary.
This decision was made after many phone calls, emails, letters, and the continuous requests of the pilgrims who come to San Giovanni Rotonodo, in which they express the desire to be able to pray once again before the relics of the revered Capuchin.
The friars and the Archbishop have seen fit to carry out this initiative precisely in this Year of Faith, certain that it will renew the spiritual benefits that came from the last exhibition (April 24, 2008 - September 24, 2009), and, in particular, to awaken faith in the hearts of the many pilgrims, a virtue of which Padre Pio was and continues to be an exemplary witness in his writings, with his spirituality, and, above all, with the constancy of his life.
Press office of the Friars Minor Capuchin of the Province of ‘Sant'Angelo e Padre Pio' (Foggia, Italy)