Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, also known as Padre Pio, and Saint Leopold Mandic
MANILA, Feb. 12, 2016— First class relics of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina – better known as Padre Pio – and Saint Leopold Mandic will be on display in Quezon City next week.
As a special initiative for the Jubilee of Mercy, the relics of the saints, known for their holiness and for their dedication to the Sacrament of Confession, will be exhibited at Radio Veritas station from Feb. 15 to 20.
Pope Francis has designated Padre Pio and St. Leopold as saint-confessors for Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy “to inspire people to become reconciled to the Church and to God, by the confession of their sins.”
Leopold is the apostle of unity and a forerunner of today’s ecumenism, and of confession. His feast day is commemorated every May 12, the day he was born. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1983.
Meanwhile, Padre Pio is the patron of civil defense volunteers, adolescents, and the village of Pietrelcina. His feast day is commemorated every Sept. 23.
Padre Pio was a friar, priest, and mystic famous of bearing the stigmata for most of his life.
Pope John Paul II declared him a saint in June 2002 in one of the largest of such ceremonies in history, reportedly attended by more than 300,000 pilgrims who filled the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square.
The relics will be enthroned at Our Lady of Veritas Chapel for one week, from Feb. 15-20, and will be open for public veneration.
Devotees seeking healing and other petitions may visit the images and relics from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Veritas Chapel located at the second floor of Veritas Tower, 162 West Avenue corner EDSA in Quezon City. (CBCP News)
