They’ve dug up the body of Padre Pio forty years after his death.

They being the powers that be in the Catholic Church.

Why  …….  one may ask?

According to the local Archbishop of the area, Monsignor Domenico D’Ambrosio, the reason they dug him up is:

“to allow future generations the chance to venerate the mortal remains of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina and to conserve them as well as possible.”

Some facts about Padre Pio:

• He died in September 1968 at the age of 81
• He was said to have had stigmata – crucifixion marks in his hands and feet
• He was shunned by church authorities and recognised only after massive popular devotion to him
• He was made a saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II

Some facts about the exhumation and subsequent display of the body:

• His body was exhumed as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of his death
• His body was said to be ‘intact’ when it was exhumed in March
• There were no signs of the stigmata visible
• A team of forensic specialists, doctors and a biochemist worked to restore the body
• A London company that supplies figures for wax museums created a special silicone mask to represent his face, complete with beard and bushy eyebrows
• His body is on display at Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church in San Giovanni Rotondo near Foggia, Italy in a glass-and-marble coffin
• Padre Pio is wearing the brown hood of his Capuchin order
• A white silk stole embroidered in crystals and gold covers his shoulders
• His hands are placed on his chest under a large wooden cross
• One million people are expected to file past the exhumed body at a rate of 2,000 a day.
• There was opposition from Padre Pio’s family initially but they later gave the go ahead

Quoting Monsignor D’Ambrosio again:

“The upper part of the skull was skeletal while the forehead was in perfect condition. The rest of the body is also well preserved. You can clearly see the beard, knees, hands, the nails – if Padre Pio will forgive me it’s as if he has just had a manicure. The signs of the stigmata are not visible. The robes are also still intact and his feet are visible because as is customary capuchin monks are buried shoeless.”

More stuff related to Padre Pio:

• An Italian author published a book claiming that the stigmata were faked and there was evidence in the Vatican archives to prove this
• Padre Pio’s shrine draws close to one million pilgrims each year
• He is especially popular in Australia and Ireland
• The hospital he founded in San Giovanni Rotondo is one of the biggest in southern Italy

Critics have said that the adulation of Padre Pio represents the kind of superstition-infused popular worship frowned upon by Catholicism.
Church officials have described the display as a “grand event, comparable to the Olympics”.

The question remains ….. is it veneration or idolatry?