Padre Pio: freedom, work for the poor

It was January 1940 when Padre Pio spoke for the first time about his project of to found in San Giovanni Rotondo a large hospital to treat the sick in need. That place forgotten by all where there was the greatest need for a merciful hand to assist the poor local people.

All around there was nothing but misery, sadness and abandonment. No hospitals, no shelters for the weakest, nothing to help endure the sores of that deep misery. Even the small infirmary housed in the former convent of the Poor Clares was destroyed in the 1938 earthquake.

Padre Pio's wish becomes reality

In his dream the new hospital was supposed to be a place is preferably used for care of the body but also for that of the soul. To cure sins it takes the faith but to heal the body you need good doctors and welcoming places, this was his thought.

The hospital he wanted to name House for Relief of Suffering it should have risen right next to hers church. There are many Miracles that Padre Pio did but the biggest one and which seemed impossible to everyone was realized as he had dreamed of it. After two years, in fact, the hospital committee for the poor, the suffering and the dispossessed was born.

In the following years a large sum was raised. The donations they came from all over the world. The hospital was inaugurated on May 5, 1956 in the presence of numerous local authorities. Obviously there was no lack of critical of his enemies. Yes he scolded to have spent too much, to have built a luxurious complex. Too many marbles and expensive materials that made the structure look like a large hotel rather than a health facility.

According to Padre Pio that must have been the house where, in front of the suffering and Jesus,, they were all the same: rich and poor, young and old. Soon the hospital hosted illustrious clinicians who lent their work for free and managed to equip itself with the most modern technologies for care of the sick. Today, after so many years, the structure continues to grow because the beds are always insufficient due to the continuous influx of patients from all over Italy.