Padre Pio’s Last Encounter with Jesus — The Shocking Message About Priests and Eternal Agony
Padre Pio’s Last Encounter with Jesus — The Shocking Message About Priests and Eternal Agony
In the final moments before his death in 1968, the revered Saint Padre Pio, who had carried the sacred wounds of Christ for fifty long years, received a personal visitation from Jesus Himself.
What unfolded in those sacred last hours remains one of the most profound and emotional events in modern Catholic history.
Padre Pio was the reason countless individuals embraced Christianity and strengthened their faith in Jesus Christ.
He was a beloved saint bestowed with the holy stigmata, bearing those painful wounds with incredible dignity and humility despite a life marked by intense suffering.
He endured everything in silence, guided by his unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ.
One can only imagine what transpired in the moments before his passing.
Astonishingly, Jesus Christ Himself appeared and spoke to Padre Pio just before his demise.
To uncover the mysterious message conveyed by Jesus Christ to Padre Pio, it is essential to understand the full story of this holy man’s extraordinary life.
It was in 1918 that Padre Pio experienced the stigmata for the very first time.
One morning after celebrating Mass and feeling drowsy, a deep sense of stillness overcame him.
In this moment, he felt an overwhelming presence that erased all other sensations.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure similar to one he had seen in 1913 appeared before him.
But this time, the figure’s hands, feet, and side were bleeding.
This sight terrified Padre Pio, and he felt an indescribable sensation, almost as if he would die.
However, through divine intervention, his heart was strengthened and he did not perish.
This is where it starts to get interesting.
After the vision vanished, Padre Pio realized that his own hands, feet, and side were also bleeding.
The stigmata, in which he shared the wounds of Christ, were a gift bestowed upon him by the Lord.
These wounds served as a powerful sign of his credibility as a confessor and a man with the ability to discern souls.
People were irresistibly drawn to Padre Pio because of the stigmata, and the Lord used this phenomenon to guide individuals away from sinful paths and difficult situations toward the hope of resurrection.
In the solemn days preceding Padre Pio’s death in 1968, the circumstances he faced must have been the most peculiar in his entire existence.
The visible wounds which had defined his identity for fifty years became so ingrained within him that recollecting a time without them must have proved arduous.
However, as Padre Pio approached the end of his earthly journey, the wounds on his hands, feet, and side began to close.
He had received these wounds on the morning of September 20th, 1918.
Half a century later, on September 20th, 1968, after several days of gradual fading, they disappeared entirely.
The wounds remained only with Padre Pio.
Whether visible or concealed, they were an integral part of his very being.
Did you know that Jesus appeared to Padre Pio for the first time in 1913, five years before he received the stigmata? In a letter to another priest, he described the distressing vision that unfolded before him.
Padre Pio was still in bed on a Friday morning when Jesus appeared to him, but this time something was different.
Jesus appeared battered and disfigured, a sight that pained Padre Pio’s heart.
As Padre Pio looked on, Jesus showed him a vast multitude of both regular people and priests, including many ecclesiastical dignitaries.
Some were celebrating Mass, some were putting on their sacred vestments, and others were taking them off.
What caught Padre Pio’s attention and brought tears to his eyes was Jesus’s gaze upon those priests.
Two tears rolled down Jesus’s cheeks, and it was clear that he was in distress with great disgust on his face.
Jesus moved away from the crowd of priests and called them butchers.
Why would he call the priests butchers? His reason, though heartbreaking, was clear.
Jesus was expressing his disappointment in how these priests were handling their sacred duties.
Then Jesus turned to Padre Pio and spoke directly to him.
He said, My son, do not think that my agony only lasted three hours.
No, I will be in agony until the end of the world because of the souls I have blessed the most.
These words conveyed the eternal weight of Jesus’s suffering for humanity.
Jesus continued revealing the pain he felt during his agony.
He emphasized the importance of not sleeping during this critical time.
Jesus longed for even a drop of human compassion but felt abandoned under the weight of people’s indifference.
The ingratitude and indifference of his ministers made his agony even more burdensome.
Jesus lamented how poorly his love was reciprocated and how people added contempt and disbelief to their indifference.
He even admitted at times he was tempted to strike them if it weren’t for the intervention of loving angels and souls.
In the first letter after receiving the stigmata, Padre Pio explained everything that happened to him in detail.
On the morning of the 20th of the last month, in the choir after celebrating Mass, he beheld before him a mysterious figure resembling the one he had seen on the evening of August 5th.
The only distinction was that his hands, feet, and side oozed blood.
The sight filled him with terror, and the emotions he experienced at that moment were beyond description.
He believed he might perish and surely would have had the Lord not intervened, fortifying his heart that felt as though it would burst from his chest.
The vision dissipated, and he became aware that his hands, feet, and side were dripping blood.
Imagine the agony Padre Pio endured, which persisted almost every day.
The wound in his heart bled incessantly, particularly from Thursday evening until Saturday.
He was consumed by the pain caused by these wounds and the resulting anguish it inflicted upon his soul.
He feared that he might bleed to death unless the Lord heeded his fervent plea to relieve him of this condition.
Out of all the people in the world, Jesus chose Padre Pio to gift him His wounds.
For the next fifty years, he bore these wounds and the suffering that came with them.
Following an arduous Mass on September 22nd, 1968, at the age of 81, St.
Padre Pio, frail and exhausted, needed assistance from his fellow Franciscan brothers to reach his bed.
In the early hours of September 23rd, after confessing and renewing his vows, he managed to utter the names Jesus and Mary while holding a rosary.
Despite his weakened state, a slight improvement in his condition was observed around 2:30 a.
m.
Although those present did not witness anything extraordinary, it seemed as if the saint, who had experienced numerous supernatural occurrences throughout his life, was perceiving something unseen.
Summoning his strength, he whispered, I see two mothers, and softly said Maria before passing away.
The nature of his final vision remains a mystery.
One possibility is that he referred to his spiritual mother, the Virgin Mary, and his biological mother.
The Church itself is often symbolized as a mother.
While it may seem likely that his final word Maria referred to the Blessed Virgin, it is worth noting that his biological mother’s name was also Maria.
Another mystic, Sister Rita Montella, who had a close relationship with Padre Pio, claimed to have assisted him through bilocation during his final moments.
According to her testimony, she believed that the Virgin Mary, St.
Francis, and St.
Clare were present in his room at the time of his passing.
Padre Pio’s celebration of Mass was renowned, often lasting up to three hours.
For him, the Mass was a profound engagement of his entire being, representing the pinnacle of his day and the source of his inner strength.
Starting his day at 3:30 a.
m.
, he dedicated the early hours to meditation and prayer, preparing his heart for the Holy Mass.
When the time came to preside over the Mass, Padre Pio was deeply moved.
He immersed himself in the Passion of Christ, understanding the significance of his actions.
It was no wonder that he displayed strong emotions during Mass, occasionally shedding tears, his countenance alternating between pale and radiant.
His devotion was intense, occasionally accompanied by silent sobs and bodily contractions.
Every aspect of his demeanor reflected his profound connection to the Passion of Christ, as if the barrier between the altar and Calvary had been lifted.
Moreover, Padre Pio’s meticulous attention to every detail of the Mass, from the rubrics to consecration, contributed to the length of his ceremonies.
He approached each element with meditation, personally invested in every action, reciting the Liturgy with emotional resonance.
He enunciated each word distinctly.
The consecration held special significance for Padre Pio, often spending additional time in adoration of the consecrated Bread and Wine.
In his later years, his Masses were shorter due to his declining health, lasting around an hour.
This serves as a powerful reminder that the Mass is more than meets the eye.
It transports us to Calvary where we encounter Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Throughout his life, St.
Padre Pio witnessed the evils of the world, enduring the violence and animosity of two world wars.
Yet in the face of adversity, his devotion to the Mass remained unwavering.
It continued to connect him to Calvary where he encountered Jesus Christ Our Lord.
That is not all.
Padre Pio was an ardent believer in the Virgin Mary and spent most of his time with the Rosary.
It provided him strength with each passing day.
Padre Pio’s deep devotion to the Virgin Mary was not newfound.
From a young age, his love for Mary was unwavering and grew stronger throughout his life.
Padre Pio’s affection for Mary was evident in his daily routine as he would pray the Rosary whenever he had a free moment.
He always carried the Rosary with him, either holding it or keeping it close by.
One of the Capuchins who assisted him recalled how Padre Pio would wash his hands, making sure to keep one hand free to hold his Rosary.
He once said that some people foolishly believe that they can navigate life without the help of the Blessed Mother, but he knew that the Rosary was a powerful weapon against the world’s evils.
Padre Pio fervently prayed the Rosary every day and even kept a few under his pillow.
On a night when he couldn’t find his rosaries, he urgently called for someone to bring him his weapon.
For Padre Pio, the Rosary was not just a string of prayers but a heartfelt offering to his beloved Mother in Heaven.
He had a profound love for the Virgin Mary and relied on her during times of trial.
Padre Pio believed in the Blessed Mother’s powerful intercession, which could heal both body and soul.
He encouraged others to persevere in praying the Rosary daily, believing that anything is possible when it is done devoutly and with the heart.
Padre Pio was truly one of the most blessed saints in the Catholic community.
His connection with God was so deep that God felt like sharing His wounds with him.
While we may not possess the same level of worthiness as Padre Pio to bear the stigmata, let us entreat our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us the strength and courage necessary to draw near to the sacrament of Holy Communion and strive to become better individuals than we were in the past.
