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Italy's Favorite Saint to Be Exhumed

Posted Jan 8, 08 2:00 PM CST in Arts & Living,  World 

(Newser) – The body of Padre Pio, one of Italy’s most beloved saints, will be exhumed this year for a “checkup” and to be put on display for public veneration, the Guardian reports. "It is our duty to allow the generations that come after us the ability to venerate and best care for his mortal remains," said the archbishop of Puglia, where the man formally known as Saint Pius is buried.

Although exhumation for the canonized is a standard Vatican procedure, a group claiming to have the support of the saint’s relatives has threatened legal action to stop it. Even 40 years after his death, Padre Pio continues to command extreme respect among Italian Catholics. A poll once found that more of the country’s faithful pray to him than to the Virgin Mary or Jesus.
Sources:: Guardian (UK), Reuters, Der Spiegel

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San Giovanni Rotondo, ITALY: Picture taken 16 March 2006 of Padre Pio's statues in a souvenirs' shop in San Giovanni Rotondo. (AFP PHOTO / MARIO LAPORTA)   (Getty Images)
San Giovanni Rotondo, ITALY: Picture taken 16 March 2006 of books telling the Padre Pio's life in a souvenirs' shop in San Giovanni Rotondo. AFP PHOTO / MARIO LAPORTA   (Getty Images)
Vatican City, VATICAN CITY STATE: belivers pray during a mass and prayers for Saint Padre Pio's faithful in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, 14 October 2006. AFP PHOTO / ALESSIA GIULIANI   (Getty Images)
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