Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Padre Pio

This weekend was my sisters graduation party and it was really cool because I got to meet her boyfriend, Andrew's grandparents. Andrew is a relative of the great saint, Padre Pio, and his grandparents knew him first-hand. His grandmother, Graziella, was his "spiritual daughter." Her father was a close relative to Padre Pio. Her husband, Andre, was chosen for her by Padre Pio himself. They told us many stories of their encounters with Padre Pio. Graziella has written a book called Padre Pio: Encounters with a Spiritual Daughter from Pietrelcina. Talking to Andre was amazing, he is such a passionate man filled with so much love for his family and God. He filled up with tears as he told me about stories from days back in Pietrelcina, Italy with Padre Pio. He told of his confession with P. P. and how he read his heart and told Andre each and every one of his sins. I thought it was funny, he even remembered his penance: 15 Our Fathers and Hail Maries for a month! Graziella was so funny, so full of spunk. They were so down to earth and funny and their italian accents were great! It was great to meet them, not to mention they are real live relics!

It's so cool knowing someone who was so close to one of the greatest saints ever!! Padre Pio has always been one of my favorite saints, especially back in high school. It's amazing because when my sister was in her "rebellious" years I would pray to the saints for her, one of them being Padre Pio, and now she had a great conversion of heart and is dating his relative! His grandparents are going to give our family a relic (a piece of his clothing). I Thought this was a cool thing to share. It's funny, I don't care about celebrities at all, but when it comes to the saints, I am crazy over them. They're my heros, and Padre Pio is definitely one of my top 5! My fav saints are: Padre Pio, St. Joseph, St. Gerard, Maria Goretti, Gianna Baretta Molla, St. Therese, St. Francis deSales and Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Anne, and St. Thomas Aquinas. There are more, these are the ones that come to my mind first. I've had some very close encounters with Padre Pio, St. Therese, and St. Gerard. I could tell the stories sometime on my blog if you would like, but I was wondering, does anyone reading have any stories connected w/ the saints? I just love reading about their lives, it's so inspiring!

Check out Graziella DeNunzio Mandato's Book here at:

http://www.penitents.org/giftshopGrazMan.html




3 comments:

  1. What a neat experience! The little flower is my favorite saint. I used to pray devotions to her, especially while in nursing school @ DSU. I know her prayers for me def. helped me get through it! Chris and I want to incorporate her name into one for a daughter someday, most likely a middle name. I also LOVE, LOVE saint Anthony. Silly as it may be, he's never let me down when I've lost something. He always helps me find it!

    I'd love to hear more about your encounters with the saints if you decide to blog about them. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  2. we have some of the same favorite saints! my family is really close to the family of st. gianna and they pass around her relics a lot. a good book to read on her is "Love Letters to My Husband." It's all of the letters she wrote to her husband (who is still alive today) before she died and it's an easy read book.
    i LOVE st. therese and of course the book "Story of a Soul," but another amazing read on her and her family is "The Story of a Family." it's a longer book, but amazing. her family was so holy all of her sisters became nuns too and her parents we're very holy (they had wanted to enter the religious life, but weren't permitted). my sister and brother are named after st. therese's parents bc their venerable or blessed. i have a brother Louis and a sister Azelie Therese and another brother Gerard (my mom is really devouted to him and always jokes that after praying to him for so many children she had to name one after him! He's baby #13!)
    sorry for the long post, just wanted to share! very cool story, hope to hear more!

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  3. Awesome!!! Thanks girls! I too love the little Flower. She's such a powerful saint. I forgot to mention that I also love St Anthony. I have lost so many things, only to pray to him and find it EVERY TIME! It's crazy, really! I'll tell a story about him, St. Therese, and my Padre Pio story in my next blog. Marjorie, I love how your mom picked names of the saints for her children. I too want to do that for sure, i think it's so cool, and the kids grow up knowing they are named after a saint and I really believe they have a special connection to that saint their entire life. My confirmation saint is St. Maria Goretti, and I've always felt that she has prayed for me my entire life (especially in my youth!)

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