St Padre Pio’s Powerful words during a Pandemic in Italy

A simple act of trust in the Lord is the way

In 1918, Italy experienced the Spanish Flu that caused businesses and schools to shut down. It was very scary for many people at the time, so they turned to the Holy man of San Giovanni, Padre Pio. 

According to one of his biographies, Padre Pio: The True Story, published by Our Sunday Visitor, his response to one of his daughters was simple but powerful:

“By September, everyone in San Giovanni Rotondo seemed to be ill, the schools were closed, and what little commerce there was in town was brought to a halt. In the next couple months, two hundred people from a population of ten thousand would perish.Padre Pio’s spiritual daughters came to him terrified, begging him to save them. “Never fear,” he assured Nina Campanile. “Put yourself under the protection of the Virgin, do not sin, and the sickness will not overcome you.” Although some of the “daughters” fell ill, none of them died.“

He also responded to tragedy that surrounded him by offering himself as a victim for the world.

“Padre Pio had already offered himself as a victim for the cessation of the war. He also offered himself as a victim for the boys of the “Seraphic College,” of which he was now serving as principal. And on September 17, he offered himself as a victim for the end of the influenza.”

It is believed that after this offering, he received the stigmata of the Lord. 

This is a lesson to trust in the Lord while doing our bit to save our souls.