The history of Padre Pio's shroud

When you think about the word shroud, the linen sheet that wrapped the body of Christ after being taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb immediately comes to mind. This is the real Shroud, but there are others that concern the Saints.

Very few know the history of Padre Pio's handkerchief, a real "shroud" of this Saint. The story of this relic has been told by Francesco Cavicchi, a Venetian industrialist who died in 2005. He had kept the handkerchief for a long time, but always kept it hidden until the day Padre Pio was proclaimed a saint.

It is a common handkerchief, with stripes along the edges, similar to those that men once used. On one side it shows theeffigy of Padre Pio, on the other oneimage resembling that of Christ.

Francesco's handkerchief

In 1967, Francesco went to San Giovanni Rotondo with his family to ask Padre Pio for advice, like many other faithful. Unfortunately, in those days the Friar of Pietrelcina was not well and Francesco feared not being able to meet him.

So before leaving he went to the Superior of the Convent to ask him if he could leave a message for the saint, but he replied that he would come down to confess the faithful. Caught up in the excitement of that meeting he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the sweat.

When Padre Pio arrived he knelt down and the saint held out his hand and, smiling, told him that he was blocking the passage. Then he saw the handkerchief he was holding and he took it. The confession began and Francis began to talk about his problems.

Due to the crowd at one point he had to move away, but the saint called him back to give him back the handkerchief. Before doing that though, I passed over his face, almost as if wanting to dry a hypothetical sweat.

From that day, Francesco always kept the handkerchief with him and from time to time showed it to other people, proudly recounting what had happened. After death of Padre Pio, on 23 September 1969, Francis returned to San Giovanni Rotondo.

The image of Padre Pio on the shroud

Out of tiredness he fell asleep on a bench and dream that Padre Pio showed him the wound on his side, telling him to touch it. In his dream, his hands remained dirty with something which he wiped away with a handkerchief. When he woke up, he looked at the handkerchief that Padre Pio had held in his hands and noticed the same ones dark marks that he had seen in the dream, that looked like a human face. Time and prayer they helped him to better understand what had happened and that that image on the back of the handkerchief was of Padre Pio, like that of Christ.

After Francesco's death the handkerchief was analyzed and no one has managed to give a scientific explanation to the images. They were not painted or drawn, there is no trace of color or other substances on the canvas. Today, this relic it is kept in a display case in a convent of friars who wanted to remain anonymous.