A letter to Saint Pio

Last July, my husband Julius Babao and our daughter Antonia revisited the Shrine of Saint Pio in Santa Maria delle Grazie, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. On our first visit three years ago, Julius and I prayed to Saint Pio to grant us another child. I was having difficulty getting pregnant at that time. My prayers were answered.

On his birthday today, I am writing the following letter to Saint Pio as a gesture of deep gratitude, accompanied by exclusive photos taken during our second visit (thanks to RJ Rodriguez, son of Ramon Rodriguez, founder and chairman of the Philippine Center for Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who helped me with the captions):

Sept 23, 2011 

Saint Pio’s tomb surrounded by walls and ceilings made with gold mosaic

Dearest Saint Pio, 

On your Feast Day, we thank you, Saint Pio, for inspiring us to live a life of prayer and devotion, despite the many temptations and sins surrounding our world today. Despite the many trials, pain, sufferings and crosses that we carry each day.  

Once again, we thank you. Through your powerful intercession, Our Lord Jesus, Mama Mary and Saint Joseph gave the answers to our prayer petitions. The answers may not have been perfect, but because it is according to the Will of God, it is made perfect through time and our frail human acceptance.

Once again we learned that a delay in the answer to one’s prayers does not mean a denial from God. Through His most perfect time, we are all made to understand His perfect Will for us. 

Thank you for all your blessings, dear God. We are but vessels for Your blessings to be shared to others. 

Please protect our families and loved ones from harm. Please keep them healthy and safe at all times. We may not be with them 24 hours each day, but knowing that You are there to protect them is enough to give us peace in our hearts. 

Thy will be done. 

Amen.

Julius and Antonia praying before Saint Pio’s tomb

Prayer for the Intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina:

Dear God, You generously blessed Your servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Your Son. Endowed with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. With reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech You to grant me the grace of (here state your petition). Amen.

Glory be to the Father (three times).

Saint Pio’s wooden casket is protected by a metal coffin before it was encased underground with cement. Left: A close-up shot of the metal casket.