On Padre Pio’s Feast Day, Let Us Give Thanks for His Father

Seton Magazine, John Clark: On a hot and sunny day about one hundred and twenty-five years ago, on a little Italian farm, the landscape contained a familiar image—a man tending to the needs of his land.

That man, Grazio Mario Forgione, was happily joined that afternoon by his son, whom he had named “Francesco” in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. As Grazio worked the land that day, he assured Francesco that his son’s life would be much different from his own.

Francesco had dreamed of becoming a monk, and Grazio assured Francesco that he would provide him with an education to make that dream possible. Read the rest here.