A new book by historian Sergio Luzzatto, The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, argues that there is documentary evidence that the allegedly âsaintâ was a fraud.Now thereâs a surprise. Tweet. Padre Pio, priest, stigmatist, mystic and one of the worldâs most popular saints, will be dead 50 years on Sunday, September 23rd.He has inspired ⦠Pio of Pietrelcina . As far as Iâm concerned Pio, whose real name was Franceso Forgione, claimed to be a stigmatic, one whose body exhibited the wounds of Christ. Even after his canonization on June 16th 2002 by Pope John Paul II, his name kept splitting the public opinion between those who recognize his sanctity and greatness, and those who doubt some of his powers and miraculous manifestations attributed to him. Padre Pio: Scandals of a Saint Joe Nickell. The path to Padre Pioâs beatification just three years earlier had, however, been far from straightforward, with the saint having once been a highly controversial figure. What further merits attention is that Valtorta experienced the encounter in the 1940s, back when Padre Pio was still a controversial figure in the world of Catholicism as a mystic. Joe Nickell. Padre Pio is a figure that was controversial and debated in the Catholic Church sphere for a long time. The body of a controversial mystical monk who became a saint was today exhumed from his grave 40 years after his death and his corpse was said to be 'intact'. Robert Sinatra. Padre Pio died in 1968 and is said to have experienced the stigmata, or the wounds of Jesus. Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and âInvestigative Filesâ Columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. Today is the Roman Catholic feast day for one called âPadre Pio.â The Roman Catholic channel EWTN has been featuring a movie and other programs about him the past couple of weeks. 2 March / April 2011. https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/italy/mary-and-saints/ COGwriter. A couple of years back, the Catholic Herald reported the following: Donât just admire Padre Pio, imitate him, urges Pope. Padre Pio ⦠When Padre Pio was canonised by Pope St John Paul II in June 2002 before a crowd of 300,000 people it seemed in some ways almost a formality. The letter comes after that woman, in December 2020, filed a lawsuit against the Parish of Saint Padre Pio claiming she was sexually assaulted by the Rev. From: Volume 35, No. Padre Agostino Daniele, Pioâs best friend and confessor for more than fifty years, charged that Gagliardi waged âa veritable satanic warâ against Padre Pio, soliciting letters with âaccusations, exaggerations, and calumniesâ to forward to the Vatican â while it was the archbishop himself who was the center of controversy. GABRIELE PILERI Pacific Press via Getty Images The body of Padre Pio is exposed in a glass case so that all the faithful can admire the saint. Share.