The Final Mass of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) celebrated in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie on September 22, 1968, the day before his death.
Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcino, Italy. Raised in a pious Catholic family, Francesco entered the friary in 1903 and one year later received the Capuchin habit, taking the name Pio. He was ordained a priest and transferred to several sites until 1916, when he arrived in San Giovanni Rotondo, where he remained for the last 52 years of his life.
Padre Pio is admired for his fervant love of Christ and the Virgin Mary and is known as the great mystic of modern times.