Saint Padre Pio and the Mystery He Celebrated

Homily of H.E. Most Rev. Charles John Brown D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

Solemnity of Saint Pius (Padre Pio) of Pietrelcina, Priest

September 23, 2025 | Parish and National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio

Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For me as the Apostolic Nuncio here in the Philippines, it gives me so much joy and happiness in my heart to be with you this morning for the Fiesta Mass on the feast day of our beloved Saint Padre Pio, Saint Pius of Pietrelcina; here in his wonderful national shrine, here in the City of Santo Tomas, Batangas.

I'm deeply grateful to your beloved Archbishop, His Excellency, the Most Rev. Gilbert A. Garcera, Archbishop of Lipa, for having invited me to come with you this morning, to celebrate this Holy Mass. I also recognize the presence of your rector and parish priest, the Rev. Fr. Oscar L. Andal, who has organized everything for us this morning.

I came from Manila with a dear friend of mine, my classmate from the seminary, Fr. Michael Morris, Parish Priest in Church of Regina Coeli, Hyde Park, New York, who is experiencing for the first time your wonderful Philippine hospitality. Even more than that, your wonderful Philippine Catholic devotion. So, welcome to Father Morris also.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

It was 57 years ago today, on September 23, 1968, that Padre Pio went to God. That he finished his pilgrimage on this earth. He celebrated Mass the day before he died; and that Mass was videoed. It was filmed, and you can watch it on YouTube—his final Mass, 24-hours before he died.

Pray For Holy Priests

The Gospel (Matthew 9:35-38) is so perfect for Padre Pio. “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers [the workers], are few.” So, Jesus says, “Ask the master of the harvest,” that is God, “to send out laborers for his harvest.” Padre Pio was a laborer in the harvest of God. He was once sent out to gather in the harvest of God—that is the holy people of God.

In the traditional translation of that line of Jesus, “the harvest is abundant, but laborers are few”, Jesus says, in the Catholic version, “Pray to the Master of the harvest to send out laborers,” “pray for holy priests”. “Pray.” We can say that holy priests are the answer of God to the prayers of His people. Holy priests are the answer of God to the prayers of the people.

So, on the 10th of August in 1910, a young Capuchin Friar, Francesco Forgione was ordained a priest and took the religious name “Pius”, “Pio”, “Padre Pio”. August 10, 1910, that day, we can say, “God answered the prayers of the people.” He sent out a laborer into the harvest, and that laborer was Padre Pio. “Pray to the Master of the harvest, to send out laborers,” those prayers were answered on the 10th of August of 1910, in the Cathedral of Benevento, there in Italy, when Francesco Forgione was ordained and became Padre Pio.

In the liturgy that day, when the young Capuchin knelt before the bishop and received the chalice and the paten, the vessels for the celebration of Holy Mass, the bishop prayed this prayer as he handed Padre Pio the chalice and the patent. It was a simple prayer. “Accept the power to offer sacrifice to God and to celebrate Masses, both for the living and the dead.” “Received the power to celebrate Mass.”

That prayer that was used for Padre Pio back in 1910 was later changed in the Second Vatican Council, [it was] “expanded”, we could say, “enriched”, made more, we can say “expressive”. That prayer, much later, after Vatican II, became the following, and I think it's a good indication and a good introduction to the spirituality of Padre Pio. So, the original prayer was “Accept the power to offer sacrifice to God and celebrate Masses.”

The new prayer goes like this, “Accept from the holy people of God, the gifts to be offered to Him.” [This is the prayer said by the bishop as] the young priest receives the chalice and the patent. Then the bishop, talking to the young priest says this, “Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”

Those were words introduced after the ordination of Padre Pio, later on in Church history, “imitate the mystery you celebrate,” but they perfectly encapsulate and express the life of Padre Pio.

His life imitated the mystery he celebrated.

Imitate the Mystery You Celebrate

What was the mystery he celebrated? You can watch it on YouTube as he celebrated it one day before he went to God in 1968. It's the mystery of the Mass. The priest is to imitate the mystery of the Mass. Imitate the mystery you celebrate. What happens at Mass? Jesus is offering Himself to the Father. He's giving Himself to the Father, and bestowing His life on us. Jesus offers Himself to the Father and gives us life.

All of us, brothers and sisters, all of us, have natural life in us. Each and every one of us. Physical life. We got it from our parents. It comes into us. We are alive physically. Jesus, in the Last Supper and on the Cross gives us a new kind of life that comes into us, into our bodies even. Supernatural life, supernatural grace, the energy and power of God. That is what Jesus has come to give us. His life, that Jesus transfers from Himself into us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is so important for us. 

So, a priest, if he's going to be a good and holy priest, a priest who is the answer to the prayer [to] “send laborers into the harvest,” needs to offer himself to the Father and give life to the people of God. Of course, Jesus in the Last Supper is giving His own life, transferring His own life into us. A priest at Mass is giving us the life that is Jesus. But his life, the priest’s life, needs to be sacrificial.

Jesus is the one who gives us life.

The priest is the one who gives us the life of Jesus.

Padre Pio gave us God's life, and he showed that in the way in which he lived.

Model Your Life on the Mystery of the Lord's Cross

Then those second words for the prayer of ordination, “model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross.” Amazing! “Model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross.”

In 1918, eight years after he was ordained to the priesthood, the wounds of Christ appeared miraculously in the hands and feet of Padre Pio. “Model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross.” You could see the mystery of the Lord's cross expressed in his body. He was a living image, an icon of Christ. His life was perfectly fulfilling those words. “Model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross.” In 1918, he received the stigmata and remained with him for 50 years, until his death, on this day in 1968.

Padre Pio is an example of what it means to be a holy priest. He's a reminder for all of us that we need to pray for holy priests. Not every priest is going to or even should live exactly the way Padre Pio did. Not all of us can spend 12, 14, 15, or 16 hours in the confessional every day. Not all of us have the stigmata. Right? Very few. In fact, Padre Pio, probably the only priest who received the stigmata.

Padre Pio, like a saint, we can't imitate him in everything, but he shows us what is most important. He shows us what is most important for us as priests: sacraments, sacrament of confession. It so beautiful to see that the John Marie Vianney Chapel of Reconciliation here is so close to the altar. Reconciliation, confession, and the Holy Eucharist, that was central to the life of Padre Pio, completely central.

Those of us priests in today's world, some of us are teachers, some of us are working with the poor, we don't spend 16-hours in the confessional the way he did, but we all have to recognize what is most important. That's what the saints show us. They show us what's most important, the life of God that comes into us through the sacraments, that power of God, that energy of God. It also reminds us to imitate our lives on the mystery of the cross of Jesus in our own way, allowing us to imitate the Lord. As I said already, he celebrated his last Mass on September 22, 1968. That was filmed. It was videoed. It was 50 years after receiving the stigmata.

So today, as we celebrate this feast, and as we look to be filled with the hope of God, our hope of God, the hope that we receive, comes to us in the sacraments of Christ. Hope is rekindled in the Sacrament of Confession. When we've lost hope and we're discouraged, when we've been brought down by our sinfulness, the Sacrament of Confession raises us up. Padre Pio, as I've said now a couple of times, spent hours and hours in the confessional. He could read people's souls. He knew their sins before they confessed them. He forgave sins. He celebrated the Holy Mass, and gave people the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. He was a model priest in that.

Exhortation to the Faithful and the Clergy

So, for us to receive the hope of God, let's continue to pray for holy priests. Let's do exactly what Jesus asks us to do in the Gospel today, “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Let's pray “God give us holy priests.”

Secondly, I address myself to the many priests who are here celebrating the feast day of Padre Pio. Let's imitate the mystery that we celebrate in our own way. In our own way, imitate the mystery we celebrate at Mass. Jesus gave His life for us. He, in a sense, transfers His life into us through the Eucharist. We, as priests, give life to God's people. Jesus's life. That's the most important thing that we do.

Conclusion

Finally, brothers and sisters, Padre Pio, as we know, loved Our Lady, very, very much. He loved Mama Mary, and that's one of the beautiful things about you, the Filipino people, Pueblo Amante De María, People Who Love Mary. So, let's be close to Our Lady. Let's love Our Lady. Our Lady is the Mother of Hope. She's the one who always receives us like a mother, and shows us Jesus, as you see behind me, showing us the Lord, showing us Jesus. Mary is the Mother of Hope, because Jesus is our Hope.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, in Christ, for me as a representative of Pope Leo XIV here in the Philippines, it gives me a lot of joy and happiness to share this Parish Fiesta with you. Let's continue to be faithful in our mission as Christians in the world. Let's spread the love of God around us. Let's spread the hope that comes to us through the sacraments of the church.

May God bless each and every one of you, and I wish you all a very happy fiesta!