Around 1,000 pilgrims celebrated Mass with Bishop Alfred Schlert on Sept. 23, the Feast Day of St. Pius of Pietrelcina – affectionately known to many simply as Padre Pio – at the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto.
The faithful traveled from multiple states, including New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and Massachusetts, in addition to different parts of Pennsylvania.
“We were meant to be here,” said Joann Gregg of Paoli. She and a friend had planned to visit the shrine that day, not realizing that their visit coincided with the Feast Day celebration.
Gregg said she has been dedicated to bringing friends to the shrine for years and has prayed for many people experiencing health difficulties, and “they’re all doing better now,” she said.
Husband and wife, Jerry and Fran, traveled from Ohio to attend. The couple has long had a devotion to Padre Pio. Fran said a brother-in-law was in hospice with Parkinson’s disease years ago, and he experienced great recovery after being given rosary beads touched to a chalice owned by Padre Pio. “He recovered and lived three to four more years. Padre Pio gave him the gift of more time,” said Fran of her brother-in-law.
Mass opened with the hymn “O God Beyond All Praising.”
Bishop Schlert was the main celebrant, with concelebrant Father Eugene Ritz, Vicar for Clergy of the Diocese of Allentown and member of the Board of Directors for the National Centre for Padre Pio.
Assisting during the Mass were Father Keith Mathur, Chancellor of the Diocese of Allentown and Episcopal Master of Ceremonies, and Deacon Christopher Kinsella, who serves at the neighboring Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, Bally.
During the Liturgy of the Word, Angela McClellan, Director of Faith Formation and Evangelization at the National Centre for Padre Pio, read the first and second readings. Tenor Orin Strunk served as cantor. The Gospel of Matthew (Mt 13:44-45) was read by Deacon Kinsella, in which Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure hidden in a field, and a man sells all he has to buy that field.
In his homily, Bishop Schlert spoke of the many virtues of Padre Pio’s life, including his obedience, humility, suffering, and devotion to priestly ministry. “There are so many things we can all take away from [his life], no matter our vocation in life and no matter what our age,” he said.
Bishop Schlert referred to Padre Pio as “a modern Saint.”
“So often, the Saints we celebrate are from centuries ago,” he said. “He’s so close to us in time, it reminds us that the Saints were real people” who had struggles and made sacrifices, while still seeking to do God’s will every day. “He kept at it because, as the Gospel told us today, he had found the pearl of great price.”
Bishop Schlert also spoke of Padre Pio as a “Saint of the confessional,” saying how he saw confession as a path to making a fruitful and worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist.
Though Padre Pio seemed to live an ordinary life, keeping a daily schedule of prayer and Sacraments, everything he did was directed to the “praise and worship of God and the salvation of souls.”
“We give thanks to God that He’s led us here today to place our special intentions on the Altar,” said Bishop Schlert. He asked everyone to pray for those suffering illness, those needing a good confession, and those who need to find their way back to the Church, “the only way to salvation,” he said.
Organ music was provided by Joseph DiCindio, Director of Music at Most Blessed Sacrament.
Padre Pio died in 1968 at age 81. He was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002. Because of the many miracles he performed during his life, he is commonly invoked as a healing Saint for various ailments.
By Gia Myers
