The Passing
In September 1968, grand celebrations were held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Padre Pio’s stigmata. These included an international gathering of prayer groups in San Giovanni Rotondo.
The event became a powerful testament to the faith and devotion surrounding Padre Pio. Countless faithful traveled from every corner of Italy and abroad to honor him. On September 20, in a church overflowing with worshippers, they attended Padre Pio’s Mass and, later that afternoon, gathered in the square outside the friary to join the prayer groups in a meditated Way of the Cross. But the next day, September 21, Padre Pio did not come down to celebrate Mass.
On September 22, he managed to do so, though with great difficulty. He distributed Communion to a few of the faithful while seated and heard a small number of confessions.
On the afternoon of his final day, Padre Pio gave a blessing from the matroneum. Later, he appeared at the window of his cell to bless the faithful gathered in the meadow beyond the convent garden walls, where they sang and prayed. That night, he passed away. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary.
Tens of thousands of people descended upon San Giovanni Rotondo to see him one last time. For three days and nights, an unbroken stream of mourners solemnly filed past his body to pay their respects.
On the afternoon of September 26, hundreds of thousands gathered for his funeral. The streets were packed, with crowds lining every inch of the procession route. To accommodate the vast multitude, the cortege made a full circuit of the town, ensuring that everyone could at least glimpse the coffin
That evening, Padre Pio was laid to rest in the crypt beneath the church, a resting place prepared long before. By the very next day, pilgrims began flocking to his tomb to pray and seek his intercession.
This spontaneous outpouring of devotion soon extended to every corner of the friary where Padre Pio had lived and ministered: the confessionals, his humble cell, and later, a statue erected in the meadow where the faithful had once gathered to receive his blessing.
