Matthew is preparing for his confirmation this spring. One of the things that he has to do is to read about a saint that was assigned to him and write a report about what he read. The report follows. I bet no one can guess that I am somewhat proud of what he wrote.
Matthew Kraeger Padre Pio
3/11/2008
Francesco Forgione, known later to the world as Padre Pio, was born on the 25th of May, 1887 in the village of Pietrelcina near Benevento. His parents, Orazio Forgione and Maria Giuseppa De Nunzio were very poor. To support his family, Orazio made two trips to the United States where he worked as a laborer in Jamaica, Long Island. There is little information on the childhood of Padre Pio. He was a quiet and deeply religious boy; he could not tolerate blasphemy and when he heard the name of God, Our Lord, or the Blessed Virgin taken in vain he would run off and hide, weeping. When Francesco was still young, his father decided to have him taught to be a monk. The teacher who was chosen first for little Francesco was Don Domenico Tizzani. Soon after, because he did not think Don Domenico was a good influence on his son, Orazio, Francesco’s father sent a letter telling his wife to remove Francesco from Don Domenico and find him a more suitable teacher. The choice fell upon Maestro Caccavo. With this new teacher, Francesco learned very quickly and soon passed the examination required by the Capuchin Friars to enter their school. He was much beloved by his school-mates and teachers. His great goodness and simplicity was free from any trace of priggishness. In 1902, Francesco Forgione began his novitiate year, entering the Capuchin Monastery at Morcone in the Province of Benevento. In the next few years his health declined and hew was often subject to bouts of very high fevers and nausea. Also, he would often be tormented by vicious attacks by evil spirits as though the powers of darkness were putting up a desperate fight to destroy this little monk who was going to prove to be so powerful an adversary. Pio told no one but his confessor of these visitations. Fra Pio’s health, which must have been very poor indeed, began at last to cause some concern to his superiors. They had him examined by a doctor who declared him to be tubercular. This did not interfere with his chosen vocation, however, and he was ordained to the priesthood on August 10th, 1910, in the Cathedral of Benevento. Because of his health, Padre Pio was occasionally sent home for rest, and it was during on of these visits that he underwent a mystical experience that marked him as a victim, a living witness of the passion of Christ. We only know where the scene was laid for Padre Pio told no one but his confessor. Soon after, Italy became involved in World War I, and Padre Pio was called up for military duty, later, he was discharged for reasons of health. Padre Pio was now settled for good in San Giovanni Rotondo, the isolated monastery from whence his influence would before long be felt in every part of the globe.
When Padre Pio first came to San Giovanni Rotondo, he found a very poor and primitive mountain village that was reached by a rough road traveled mostly on foot or on mule-back Padre Pio settled down to a life of prayer and obscurity and spent about a year in this peaceful pursuit. The Capuchin Fathers where celebrating the feast of St. Francis on the 17th of September in the year of 1918 as they had for centuries. It happened to fall on a Wednesday; the following Friday, the 20th, Padre Pio was in the choir alone making his thanksgiving after mass. When a piercing cry rent the silence of the chapel, one of the monks, Padre Leone, ran to the choir. He found Padre Pio lying on the floor unconscious, bleeding profusely from five deep wounds in his hands, in his feet, and in his side. Padre Pio begged the monks to keep his secret, but some secrets are not meant to be kept. Over the next few years, doctors attempted to get the wounds to heal, but nothing helped. From then on till his death, Padre Pio lived a holy life devoted to prayer and meditation, helping souls come to the faith and working miracles for the glory of God. In the 1960’s, Padre Pio’s health began to deteriorate. In spite of his health, he continued his spiritual works. He said his last mass on September 22, 1968 and made his last confession early in the morning on September 23. He died at 2:30, that same day with the name of Mary on his lips.
Padre Pio was and is considered holy because of all the miracles he performed; including health to the sick, sight to the blind and bi-locating. And all the people he converted while he was alive and, even after his death. The very way of life that he lived shows the strength of his faith and the holiness of his spirit.
As a child, Francesco Forgione was a very holy person. What impressed me the most is the knowledge of a child at the age of seven or eight having so much faith that he can’t stand being around people that are in a state of sin. This kind of holiness at that young an age is remarkable, to say the least.
He also had to read about Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha who is the patron saint of his confirmation class and who lived not very far from where we live. He also had to write a short report about her. That report follows.
Matthew Kraeger Kateri Tekakwitha
3/26/08
Kateri Tekakwitha was born 1656, at Ossernenon in Iroquois Territory, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Catholic Algonquin woman. When she was 4, smallpox swept through Ossernenon, and Tekakwitha was left with unsightly scars and poor eyesight. The outbreak took the lives of her brother and both her parents. She was then adopted by her uncle, who was a chief of the Turtle-clan. As the adopted daughter of the chief, she was courted by many of the warriors looking for her hand in marriage. However, during this time she began taking interest in Christianity, which was taught to her by her mother.
In 1666, the Marquis Alexandre De Prouville de Tracy burned down Ossernenon. Kateri’s clan then settled on the north side of the Mohawk River, near what is now Fonda, New York. While living here, at the age of 20 years old, Tekakwitha was converted and baptized on Easter Sunday, April 18, 1676 by a Jesuit by the name of Father Jacques de Lamberville. At her baptism, she took the name Kateri. Unable to understand her zeal, members of the tribe often chastised her, which she took as a testament to her faith.
Because she was persecuted by her Indian kin, which even resulted in threats on her life, she fled to an established community of Native American Christians located in Kahnawake, Canada where she lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential practices, and care for the sick and aged. In 1679, she took a vow of chastity as in the Catholic expression of Consecrated virginity. A year later, Kateri died at the age of 24.
She is called “The Lily of the Mohawks,” the “Mohawk Maiden,” the “Pure and Tender Lily,” and the “Fairest Flower among True Men.”
Kateri Tekakwitha is considered holy because she was born in a mostly non-Catholic village, was raised a good portion of her life by a non-Catholic uncle, and through it all, she only grew in faith. In the face of such adversity, she became a Catholic and spent her life, as short as it was, dedicated to prayer and in the care of the sick and elderly.
As a child, Kateri Tekakwitha was exposed to a way of life that was so far from the way of Catholicism that it would seem that what her mother taught her when she was young would be washed away in all that every one else was saying. What impressed me the most was that one person taught her when she was young and it stayed with her, even though the world around her said otherwise.
