DeMATTEO: St. Pio has answered the prayers of a number of area believers
<http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/01/04/news/0104anndematteo.txt>http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/01/04/news/0104anndematteo.txt [] Click to enlarge [] Gino DeMico of Hamden keeps a photo of Padre Pio in his wallet. (Arnold Gold/Register) Sunday, January 4, 2009 6:35 AM EST By Ann DeMatteo Editor's note: This is Ann DeMatteo's 22nd column following her diagnosis with breast cancer. Today, we add the word "Inspirations" to her column. In starting off the New Year, I thought I'd write about a man turned saint who has provided much inspiration the world over, the Capuchin friar, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. <http://breastcancer.nhregister.com/>Special Section: Living with Breast Cancer Known by Roman Catholics as a healer who spoke directly to God, St. Pio had stigmata, the bloody wounds of the crucified Christ on his hands, feet and side. He often covered the wounds on his hands with gloves, wounds that gave off an aroma breathed in ever so slightly by Gino DeMico, 86, of Hamden. "When I kissed his stigmata hand, I was one of the few fortunate persons that for a fraction of a second was invaded by a fragrance with an intensive perfume. ... I am very fortunate and blessed," Gino said. When Padre Pio was alive, scores took pilgrimages to San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy to have confession from him and to watch him say Mass. He died on Sept. 23, 1968, at the age of 81 and was canonized on June 16, 2002, by Pope John Paul II. Hundreds of thousands still visit the location where his mortal remains are displayed. A statue of the saint is secured in an outdoor chapel in front of St. Monica's Church on Middletown Avenue in Northford. Each September, St. Monica's parishioner Maria Severino organizes a dinner and Mass to honor the saint. "He just listens to your prayers," Severino said. DeMico, who grew up in Italy, moved to America and then went back to Italy to marry his wife, had three encounters with the saint in 1956. DeMico and his wife, Beatrice, drove 18 hours from Rome to San Giovanno Rotondo, and were married at a sanctuary close by. They then watched Pio say Mass, and were lucky enough to receive Communion from him and be blessed by him. During Mass, he did not wear his gloves and the skin over his hands looked transparent. DeMico could swear he was watching Pio speak to the Lord during the Mass, but the film from the 8-mm camera he was using that day did not show the priest. A monk later told DeMico it was because he hadn't had permission to take his picture, and therefore he would not show up on film. DeMico said he also was lucky enough to be escorted to the private cell where Pio prayed. DeMico asked the padre if it was OK if his wife moved to America, because she didn't want to leave her widowed mother alone. "He said, 'Go to America,'" DeMico recalled. And in 1996, when he was in the hospital losing blood and on the verge of death, DeMico was revived, because, he said, he put a small picture of Padre Pio under his pillow and asked him for help. "He gave me back my life." Anyone who goes to Tonino's, a pizza restaurant near Quinnipiac University in Hamden, will see the cross-stitched framed picture of Padre Pio next to the door. That is because the proprietor, Anthony Improta, and his wife, Alfonsina, believe that St. Pio healed their daughter, Carmela, now 13. When Carmela was a toddler, she suffered from grand mal seizures that were so bad that they forced her hip out of the socket, her mother said. "He came in our lives at a time when our daughter was having complications, at a time that was very difficult for us," Alfonsina Improta said. After one visit to Italy, the Improtas came home with some pictures of Padre Pio after family members attended a procession in his honor. One day in 1999, he was mentioned on a television documentary, and Alfonsina then looked at the picture of Pio on her refrigerator and asked for help. "I put the picture in my pocket and had it with me all night in the hospital." Her daughter came home from the hospital a short time later and Alfonsina put the photograph on Carmela's nightstand. "She was in a deep sleep. I came downstairs for coffee and at 10 p.m. she woke up. She had her hand closed and the picture of St. Pio that was on the night table was in her hand." Alfonsina swears that there was no way her daughter could have reached over to pick up the picture. Carmela was sleeping in the same position when she went back upstairs. "It was unbelievable. I knew he was interceding for me, that he wanted to be a part of our lives." Months later, when she was about 4, Carmela was walking and falling; her right side was basically immobile. A doctor told the Improtas that nothing could cure the hip dysplasia except for surgery. And, her seizure condition was not yet stable. The Improtas traveled to Rome to see the pope in February 2000. "When John Paul came out, Carmela started screaming 'Padre Pio, Padre Pio,'" Alfonsina said. Three days later, they visited San Giovanni Rotondo to see the tomb of Pio and ask for his graces. A priest there prayed with them and assured them that Camela's surgery would be OK, and that Padre Pio would intercede for them because he loved children so much. "We promised that if everything was going to go well, that we would go back and bring a donation for the church and the legacy of St. Pio," Alfonsina said. Carmela's August surgery was successful, and she started walking in October. The Improtas returned to San Giovanni Rotondo on Jan. 6, 2001, and their testimony was taken down and stored in the "golden closet," where all testimonies to St. Pio's miracles are kept, Alfonsina said. Today, Carmela is still on medication, but is a happy 13-year-old. Alfonsina says that Padre Pio showed her "how to love Jesus, how to trust God. He showed us the path; he showed us the light." Ann DeMatteo can be reached at <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] or (203) 789-5716. Anyone with an inspirational story is asked to contact her. Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue with Your help, so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <http://astore.amazon.com/halthekin-20>Catholic on Amazon <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage <*}}}>< <*}}}><<http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Half the <http://www.halfthekingdom.org/>Kingdom!<*}}}>< Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue with Your help, so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
