The great testimony of Padre Pio on the Guardian Angel

FATHER PIO: A TALK TO THE INVISIBLE
Even the popular Padre Pio of Pietralcina (first name Francesco Forgione, 1887-1968), in the canonization phase while we compiled this work, was able to count on the constant presence, alongside him of a majestic man, of rare beauty, shining like the sun , who, taking him by the hand, encouraged him: "Come with me because you should fight as a brave warrior".

On the other hand, the angel who inflicted the stigmata on the priest one evening in August 1918. Here is how the chronicles of the time reported the event: “A heavenly personage appeared to him, holding a kind of tool similar to a very long one. iron sheet with a sharp point and which seemed to come out of it, with which it struck Padre Pio in the soul, making him moan with pain. Thus opened his first stigmata to the side, which after Mass followed the other two on the hands ". Padre Pio himself will report on the matter: “What I felt in that instant in me I would not be able to tell you. I felt like dying ... and I realized that my hands, feet and ribs were openwork ... "

But on the life of Padre Pio and on his relationships with the beings of light, there is a vast literature and a rich anecdote. Here are just a few excerpts.

One of the biographers recounts: “I was a young seminarian when Padre Pio confessed me, gave me absolution and then asked me if I believed in my guardian angel. I hesitantly replied that, in truth, I had never seen him and he, staring at me with a penetrating gaze, threw me a couple of slaps and added: - Look carefully, it's there and it's very beautiful! I turned and saw nothing, but the father had the expression of someone in his eyes who really looks at something. He wasn't staring into space. His eyes shone: they reflected the light of my angel ".

Padre Pio used to chat regularly with his angel. Curio-so this monologue (which for him was however a real dialogue) casually extorted from a Capuchin friar: “Angel of God, my angel, aren't you my custodian? You were given to me by God (...) Are you a creature or a creator? (...) You are a creature, there is a law and you must obey it. You have to stay by my side, whether you want it or not (...) But you're laughing! (...) And what's strange? (...) Tell me something (...) You have to tell me. Who was? Who was there yesterday morning? (referring to someone who had secretly witnessed one of his ecstasies) (...) You laugh (...) You must tell me (...) Was it the professor? The Guardian? In short, tell me! (:..) You are laughing. An angel who laughs! (...) I won't let you go until you tell me (...) "

Padre Pio's relationship with the beings of light was so habitual that many of his spiritual children tell of how he used to recommend himself to them so that, in case of need, they would send him their guardian angel. There is also a large correspondence in which the priest expresses himself in this sense. A classic example is this letter of 1915 addressed to Raffaellina Cerase: "At our side" writes Padre Pio "there is a heavenly spirit who, from the cradle to the grave, does not abandon us even for a moment, which guides us, protects us as a friend, like a brother and who always consoles us, especially in the hours that are the saddest for us. Know that this good angel prays for you: he offers God all the good works you do, your holiest and purest desires. In the hours when you seem to be alone and abandoned, do not forget this invisible companion always present to listen to you, always ready to console you. O delicious intimacy! O happy company ... "

What about episodes that have contributed to fueling the legend of the holy man of Pietralcina: telegrams whose reply came after a few minutes. Ironic replies like "Do you think he's deaf?" give to friends like Franco Rissone who asked if he really heard the angel's voice. Even small quarrels, such as the one that induced him to sulk at his caretaker who had been away too long leaving him at the mercy of temptations, as evidenced by the following letter from 1912: "I severely scolded him for being so long awaited for a long time, although I never stopped calling him to my rescue. To punish him, I decided not to look him in the face: I wanted to leave, escape him. But he, poor fellow, reached me almost in tears. He grabbed me and stared at me, until I looked up, looked him in the face and saw that he was very sorry. He said: - I am always close to you, my dear protégé, I always surround you with the affection that gave birth to the gratitude towards the beloved of your heart. The affection I feel for you will not go away even with the end of your life.