PADRE PIO REITERATES TODAY: "HOW TERRIBLE WAR IS!"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 3, 1999 (VIS) - At midday today in St. Peter's Square the Pope received a large group of pilgrims who yesterday had participated in the beatification ceremony for Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

In his speech the Holy Father recalled that "during the nearly sixty years of religious life he spent in San Giovanni Rotondo, Blessed Padre Pio dedicated himself entirely to prayer and to the pastoral ministry of reconciliation and spiritual guidance."

John Paul II said that "the Mass was, for the Blessed, the focus of each day, the almost anxious concern of every hour, the moment of greatest communion with Jesus, Pastor and Victim."

"In our own times, when we still think that conflict can be resolved with violence and persecution and when we frequently submit to the temptation to abuse armed force, Padre Pio reiterates what he once said: 'How terrible war is! Jesus suffers in each injured man'."

Later the Holy Father referred to the "significant gifts left to us by Padre Pio": The "House for the Relief of Suffering" and the "Prayer Groups." The new Blessed wished the House "to have the most advanced scientific and technological instruments in order that it become a place of genuine refuge, loving respect and effective therapy for all those who suffer. Is it not perhaps a true miracle of Providence, the fact that it still exists and still functions in accordance with the spirit of its founder?".

As regards the "Prayer Groups," Padre Pio wanted them to be "beacons of light and love in the world. He wanted many people to unite with him in prayer."

The Holy Father concluded with the assurance that "the testimony of Padre Pio constitutes a potent call to the spiritual dimension, something that should not be confused with the working of miracles, an error which he always firmly rejected. May priests and those consecrated to the faith follow his example."

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