Padre Pio and the phenomenon of levitation: what it is, some episodes

Levitation can be defined as the phenomenon by which a person or heavy object rises from the ground and remains suspended in the air. Obviously this phenomenon is attributable to a real charism granted by God to the Saints of the Catholic Church. San Giuseppe da Copertino, for example, was famous for these levitation phenomena and, like him, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina also had this charisma.

During the Second World War, the US Air Force General Command was in Bari. Several officers said they were rescued by Padre Pio during air operations. Even the Commanding General had been the protagonist of a sensational episode. One day he had wanted to pilot a squadron of bombers himself to go and destroy a deposit of German war material which had been padrepio10.jpg (11081 byte) reported in San Giovanni Rotondo. The General said that near the target, he and his men had seen the figure of a friar rise up in the sky with his hands raised. The bombs had automatically dropped when they fell in the woods, and the planes had reversed course, without any intervention by pilots and officers. Everyone wondered who the friar the planes had obeyed. Someone told the Commanding General that a thaumaturgical friar lived in San Giovanni Rotondo and he decided that as soon as the village was freed, he would go and check if it was the same friar seen in the sky. After the war, the General accompanied by some pilots went to the Capuchin monastery. As soon as he crossed the threshold of the sacristy he found himself in front of various friars, among whom he immediately recognized the one who had stopped his planes. Padre Pio came to meet him and, putting a hand on his shoulder, said to him: "So you are the one who wanted to get us all out". Stunned by that look and the words of the Father, the General knelt before him. As usual, Padre Pio had spoken in Benevento dialect, but the general was convinced that the friar had spoken in English. The two became friends and the General, who was Protestant, converted to Catholicism.

Here is Father Ascanio's account: - “We wait for Padre Pio to come to confession, the sacristy is packed and everyone has his eyes fixed on the door from which the Father must enter. The door does not open, but I suddenly see Padre Pio who, walking over the heads of the faithful, reaches the confessional and disappears there. After a few seconds he begins to listen to the penitents. I don't say anything, I think I can see, but when I meet him I can't help but ask him: "Padre Pio, how do you walk over people's heads?" This is his witty answer: "I assure you, my son, just like on a brick ...".

During a Holy Mass, a lady was in line, in front of Padre Pio who was giving the Eucharist to the faithful. When his turn came, Padre Pio raised the Host in an attempt to give it to the Lady, who felt herself attracted upwards, raised from the ground.