Six Years of Exile
Padre Pio’s superiors watched over him with deep care, guiding him in his remaining studies and providing for all his needs. He was believed to be suffering from tuberculosis, a diagnosis shared by several physicians, including some of great renown.
On multiple occasions, they attempted to recall him to the community, but each time they were forced to abandon the idea as his health seemed to deteriorate further.
During a forty-day stay in Venafro, he reached a point where he was sustained solely by the Eucharist. It was there that he experienced a series of ecstasies, carefully documented by Father Agostino.
After his ordination to the priesthood, Padre Pio spent the next six years primarily in Pietrelcina, broken only by stints in Naples, where he stayed at the military barracks and hospital. There, military doctors conducted repeated examinations, ultimately reaching the same conclusions as their civilian counterparts and officially discharging him from service.
The chance to return permanently to community life came in March 1916, when a noblewoman from Foggia—highly respected by the Capuchin friars for her devout life—fell gravely ill. She had been corresponding with Padre Pio for spiritual guidance. Informed by his superiors, Padre Pio traveled to the friary of Sant’Anna in Foggia, the city’s only Capuchin monastery at the time. He cared for the woman until her passing shortly thereafter and remained in Foggia afterward..
The chance for Padre Pio to return permanently to community life came in March 1916. A noblewoman from Foggia, greatly respected by the Capuchin friars for her devout life, had been corresponding with Padre Pio for spiritual guidance and had fallen gravely ill.
Informed by his superiors, Padre Pio traveled to Foggia, to the friary of Sant’Anna—the only Capuchin monastery in the city at that time. There, he cared for the woman until her passing, which occurred shortly thereafter, and he remained in Foggia afterward.
Even there, mysterious phenomena began to manifest. Frightening crashes and loud noises emanated from Padre Pio’s room, leaving his fellow friars deeply unsettled and alarmed.
The stifling summer heat of Foggia, situated as it was on the open plains, eventually brought an end to the terrifying disturbances. To spare Padre Pio the discomfort of such oppressive conditions, his superior and confrere, Father Paolino, decided to take him to the cooler hills for a few days: to San Giovanni Rotondo, on the Gargano. The decision proved to be providential.
In that remote village, Padre Pio found himself at peace. After a brief return to Foggia, he moved there permanently in September 1916. Apart from a few brief but necessary absences, he never left San Giovanni Rotondo again after 1918.