100-foot Padre Pio statue to rise in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines — A 100-foot statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill overlooking Cebu City as part of a sanctuary dedicated to the saint, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported yesterday.

In an article posted on the CBCP website, the groundbreaking for the Santuario de Padre Pio project in Barangay Pulangbato, which was held on Sept. 17, was attended by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

Quoting the project’s proponent, St. Padre Pio Home for the Relief of the Suffering-Philippines Foundation, the CBCP said an oratory would be constructed in the heart of the statue.

The pilgrimage site will house some of the relics of Padre Pio, including a replica of his incorrupt body.

A chapel with an altar that will replicate the Church of Sta. Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where Padre Pio lived from 1916 until his death in 1968, will also be built in the sanctuary.   It will feature an adoration chapel, a confession hall, lounges and spaces for healing ministry and recollection.