Free Christmas Miracles by Brad Steiger

Pio’s church when she was traveling in Italy.
    Padre Pio, born into a hard-working farming family in southern Italy in 1887, entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of fifteen and was ordained a priest in 1910. In 1918, the five wounds of Christ’s crucifixion appeared on his body, and continued to do so until his death in 1968, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Church. His entire life was marked by long, arduous prayer, continual austerity, and ineffable suffering, both physical and mental as observed by those who knew him. Hundreds of thousands of devotees flock to his place of entombment in the crypt of Our Lady of Grace Church and claim spiritual and physical healings by the grace of his saintly suffering. Last year the claim of 7 million pilgrims visiting Padre Pio’s mountaintop sanctuary was second only to the number of visitors to the Marian sanctuary of Lourdes, France. Padre Pio was only recently beatified as a saint by Pope John Paul II.
    Even though Cindy had visited the holy site it was interesting to hear of the other woman’s experience. The therapist, whose name was Nancy, continued to talk about Padre Pio. Known for his compassion and healing, it was also reported that he bilocated or was in two places at one time, the woman said. It is documented that during the Second World War, the U.S. Army air force was going to accidentally bomb an area that was occupied by allies, unbeknown to them. The fighter pilots reported seeing a monk appearing in midair, right in front of their plane, motioning for them to turn back. The fighter pilots were so frightened by the sight that they did turn back, and the impending bombing massacre was averted!
    Cindy said, “She then asked me if I had heard about the healing miracles that happened around a glove that had belonged to Padre Pio.”
    Cindy had not, so the woman on the phone offered to put another woman who was there with her on the phone to explain. “The woman had a very sweet and calming voice and turned out to be a local television personality, but wishes to remain anonymous, so we refer to her as our ‘Christmas angel,’ ” Cindy continued.
    She told of a priest who used to be a custodian of Padre Pio’s in Italy, but returned to his former parish in Brooklyn, New York, following Padre Pio’s death. The priest had been given two of the gloves that Padre Pio wore on his hands to keep the blood from the Stigmata wounds from dripping on the floor. The gloves are considered sacred objects and are known for their healing properties. There were many stories of how parishioners of this Brooklyn church had miraculous healings by the gloves, which are said to give off an uncannily beautiful rose scent. The scent is always present, although emanating stronger at times, and weaker at others.
    The priest kept one glove for himself and gave the other one to his sister, who felt it should be made available to all to benefit from. His sister felt that the parking-lot attendant of the church, who knew everyone in the parish, would be the best guardian for disseminating the healing power of the glove. The glove is kept in a box with a piece of a sheet that came from Padre Pio’s bed, a book in which people write to Padre Pio, and one of those double-image pictures of Padre Pio that changes as you tilt it from side to side. Continuing, she interrupted herself with a little laugh and an aside, saying the parking-lot booth used to be a shrine to Frank Sinatra, until Padre Pio’s box arrived. Now it is shared—Frank Sinatra and Padre Pio!
    Telling of a long waiting list for the glove, the woman on the other end of the phone said that her name came up for Christmas Eve, so she felt there was no better way she could spend her own Christmas other than to share it with whoever was in need. She had the glove for two entire days, so it was still in her possession and the English massage