The golden crypt
The church of Saint Padre Pio
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The construction of the church of Saint Pio,
commissioned to architect Enzo Piano, started in 1994 and was dedicated
on July 1, 2004. The 120' feet tapering cross and the horizontal bell
tower dominate the immense outside space gently sloping towards the
grandiose window. A colonnade flanked by multiple halls for pilgrims,
serves as support of the construction above it. The inside is dominated by
21 arches of different size, stemming from a central pillar containing,
at its base in the crypt, the casket od Padre Pio. The stained glass
window and the skylights create a special combination of light and
shade. The materials used are mostly local, including the Apricena
stone. Every detail in the church is magnificent work of art, from the
pulpit to the organ to the altar, and many renowned artists have
contributed such as Renzo Piano, Domenico Palladino, Giuliano Vangi, Arnoldo Pomodoro
and many others. The organ Pinchi opus 415 has 5814 pipes. The
pulpit by Giuliano Vangi, the altar by Arnoldo Pomodoro, the bells by
Marinelli foundry. |
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The outdoor area
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The cross and the horizontal bell tower
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The outside
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The inside
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| The crypt and lower church | |
| The wall of the ramp leading to the lower church and the crypt are adorned with magnificent mosaics. They depict stories from the life of St. Francis, Padre Pio, the Gospel, and the Old Testament. They are works of art from the atelier in Rome of Padre Marko Ivan Rupnik, a brilliant Jesuit artist from Slovenia. His collaborators come from many different countries and various Christian backgrounds. The ceiling has tiles of different sizes and shapes covered with gold. The whole complex of Saint Padre Pio has been realized with the donations of the faithful. | |
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The golden crypt |
The Monumental Way of the Cross
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The cornerstone of the Monumental Way of the
Cross was blessed by Padre Pio on September 22, 1968, just hours before
his death. The time capsule in buried under the statue of Padre Pio. It was inaugurated on August 9, 1981. The spectacular bronze Stations, immersed in a sloping pine forest, come from the renowned Sicilian artist Francesco Messina. |
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Overall view 
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The fourteen Station 
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Monuments to Padre Pio are all over the world. In
Italy they are everywhere. Here is a small sample taken from the web. |
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1Monteleone di Puglia 2Montelepre 3Montoro Superiore 4Muros 5New Orleans 6Orosei 7Pace del Mela 8Agrigento 1 
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1Paduli 2Palese 3Palma di Montechiaro 4Pescara 5Pescopennataro 6Pescosannita 7Piacenza 8Piane Crati 9Piazza Armerina 1 
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1Pilonico Paterno 2Pilotello 3Pofi 4Poggio a Caiano 5Poggio Sannita 7Prato 1 
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1Acireale 2Acquedolci 3Aidone 4Alberobello 5Andria 6Aprilia 7Assisi 8Bari Picone 1
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1Bari Picone 2Barrali 3Bompensiere 4Benini Sculpture Ranch, Tx 5Bisaccia 6Bitonto 1 
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3 4 5 6 7 8 1Bologna 2Buena NY 3Angri 4Avetrana 5Cagliari 6Cagnano Varano 7Campoli del Monte Taburno 8Cancello Arnone 1  
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1Canne della battaglia 2Capelvenere 3Carey, OH 4Carrara 5Castelnuovo di Conza 6Castelsilano 7Castrofilippo 1 
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1Catania 2Chiusa Sclafani 3Ciampino 4Colle d'Anchise 5Conversano 6Corleto Monforte 7Cosenza 8Cromwell, CT 9Dasa 1 
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1Dillinge, Germany 2Diso 3Dogliola 4Elba 5Elmas 6Fornacelle 7Forno Alto 8Francavilla Angitola 9Francavilla di Sicilia 1 
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9 1Frascati 2Gabicce Monte 3Gallipoli 4Ghilarza 5Gioia Tauro 6Grumo Nevano 7Guardia Porticara 8Guardia Saframondi 9Iglesias 1  
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1Landsville Minotota, NJ 2Laureano di Borrello 3Lettopalena 4Lipari 5Lodi 6Mamore Donegal 7Manfredonia 1 
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9 1Marina di Camerota 2Marina Franca 3Martirano Lombardo 4Matera 5Matinella 6Miglionico 7Mineo 8Montaguto 9Montevago 1 
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1Pozzilli 2Regnana 3Rende 4Rivazzurra 5Rocca di Capri Leone 6Roccavaldina 7Rockland County Salesians, NY 8Rometta Marea 1 
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1Rometta 2S. Agata Militello 3S. Salvatore in Lauro, Roma 4S. Stanislao 5Saarfels, Germany 6Samo 7San Benedetto del Tronto 8San Casciano Val di Pesa 9San Costantino 10Sanfratello 1 
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1San Lorenzo Maggiore 2San Roberto 3San Secondo 4San Sosti 5Santa Paolina 6Sant'Agata di Militello 7Sant'Elia a Pianisi 8Sassari 1 
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1Santo Stefano Medio 2Sava 3Scalea 4Schiavitelli 5Scido 6San Giovanni Rotondo 7Solofra 8Soveria Simeri 9Sperlonga 1 
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1Spezzano della Sila 2St. Louis Missouri 3Stazzo 4Stornellara 5Taormina 6Taviano 7Teggiano 8Terlizzi 9Termoli 1 
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1Tornareccio 2Torremaggiore 3Torrevado 4Torricella Peligna Monacizzo 5Torricella Peligna 6Tortorici 7Trapani 8Travagliato 1 
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1Tremiti 2Trieste 3Triggiano 4Tropea 5Vaccarella 6Valenzano 7Vetralla 8Vicovaro Tivoli 1 
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6 1Villafranca Tirrena 2Vineland, NJ 3Volturino 4Wigratzbad, Germany 5Zibido 6Zoagli |
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Quotes of Padre Pio written in stone 
"Everybody can say: Padre Pio is mine."
"The children may neglect the father. The father will never neglect his
children."
"I will stop at the door of paradise and will not enter until all my
children are in."
"Pray; hope. Jesus will help you."
"Let's have always lit in our heart the flame of charity."
"In the silence of the night I have raised my hand many times to bless
you all."
"I will never get tired of praying for you."
"...God is our joy, our peace, and our glory."
"May Mary transform to joy every pain in your life."
In ecstasy seeing Mary: "...Oh Mommy, you are beautiful. I love you."
"I'd like to have a voice so strong to invite every sinner to love
Mary." |
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More quotes "Do not get agitated. Agitation is useless." "After my death I will do much more." "Hypocrisy is the greatest evil of our time." "Prayer is never wasted." "If we knew the value of the Mass, security would be needed at the door to control the crowds." |
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