When I think about all the graces Our Lord granted through Padre Pio’s intercession, there is one story that shines above the rest. Truly, it is his miracle, one that began even before he was ordained, and one that shows how deeply the Blessed Mother entrusted souls into his care.
It was January 18, 1905. Padre Pio was not yet a priest, not yet the renowned friar with the stigmata and countless spiritual children.
He was only a young Capuchin seminarian, Fra Pio, quiet, studious, faithful in prayer. That evening, he was kneeling in the monastery choir alongside Brother Anastasio. It was close to 11:00; the monastery hushed in silence.
Then, without warning, the young friar was carried up in spirit, transported far from the stone walls around him.
He later described the experience in simple words: He found himself in the palace of a wealthy family, where the master of the house lay dying as his wife labored to bring forth a child. In that vision, the Blessed Mother herself appeared before him.
“She radiated a light more tender than dawn, more powerful than the sun.”
With maternal gentleness, the Blessed Mother turned to Fra Pio and entrusted him with a mission
