St. Padre Pio Unearthed!

I know Sarah will like this...

With great Italian devotion, St. Padre Pio was exhumed last night to be prepared for public veneration during April, marking the 40th anniversary of his death and the 90th anniversary of the first appearance of the controversial stigmata.

Times Online relays:

The exhumation - the first time the tomb had been opened since Padre Pio's death in 1968 - was approved by the Vatican despite opposition from some of the saint's most ardent followers. Padre Pio's relatives had threatened to take the local archbishop to court if the corpse was exhumed, and a group of devotees had also threatened legal action.

Monsignor Domenico D'Ambrosio, Archbishop of Manfredonia, said the Capuchin friar's body had been exhumed "to check on its state and to carry out all the necessary work to guarantee the best conditions for its conservation."

The exhumation of the saint, who was credited with over a thousand miraculous cures, had been approved by the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Congregation's Prefect, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, noted that the body of Pope John XXIII, who died in 1963, had also been exhumed when he was beatified, the step before sainthood. The body was found to be unusually well preserved.

Now, I certainly wouldn't make the connection between Padre Pio's holiness and that of John XXIII as does Cardinal Martins; however, in light of Christian tradition in our modern age, public display for veneration is quite appropriate in Padre Pio's case. I would say it's of prime importance for the traditional movement within the Church, nay, for ALL the Church: As John XXIII's exhumation can be considered an indirect veneration and enshrining of his work in calling Vatican II - an approval of aggiornamento, Padre Pio's exhumation and public veneration can be considered a return to traditional Catholic devotion and spirituality - a sharing of THIS message with the modern world.

What do you think?

I found the following most interesting:

An Italian historian, Sergio Luzzatto, recently caused controversy with a book on Padre Pio in which he claimed to have found documents in the Vatican archives suggesting that Padre Pio may have faked his stigmata, the marks of the wounds of Christ, with acid, and also had "intimate and incorrect relations with women".

Vatican officials say both allegations were fully taken into account in the beatification and canonisation process. Followers of Padre Pio believe he exuded "the odour of sanctity", had the gift of bilocation (being in two places at once), healed the sick and could prophesy the future.

Italian reports said the exhumation had been carried out in the middle of the night to avoid possible protests and disruptions. The saint's body had then been taken to a "secret location" to protect it both from protesters trying to retrieve it, and from "unscrupulous relic hunters".

Surely, the world will question the saint's sharing of Christ's wounds and his personal holiness, yet such questions typically come up against the saintliest of men. Why, after the stringent process of canonization do such questions still remain? Weren't such reservations present throughout the life of Padre Pio and why do they still go unanswered?

I have to admit, out of all the modern saints, Padre Pio is the most mystical and mysterious to me. The claims made about his level of sanctity are surely not easy to believe in light of our modern existence, so highly scientific as it is. However, in light of our Catholic heritage, our patrimony, is Padre Pio so mysterious? Or do we find him to be a reminder, a sign of contradiction, an emblem of Catholic tradition in the modern world?

I think Sarah and I will be planning a trip to Italy in the near future!

St. Padre Pio, pray for us. May your unearthed body be, yet again, an earthly yet heavenly witness of your story and example of following Christ in our modern world.