One of Padre Pio’s Mittens Entrusted to the District of South America

A few years ago, the prior of Buenos Aires, Fr. Ezequiel Rubio, asked the head of the Padre Pio prayer groups in Argentina for a mitten that had been used to protect the holy priest’s stigmata. He wished to help a very sick young man in the parish who was begging Heaven to heal him through the intercession of Padre Pio. Fr. Rubio blessed the patient with the precious mitten, and he obtained the grace he fervently requested.

Since that day, requests to be blessed with this mitten have multiplied in Argentina, a country with a great veneration for the famous Capuchin, probably due to the large number of Italian immigrants.

This gave the SSPX the idea of requesting permanent custody of the mitten, in order to better spread among the faithful the piety and devotion propagated by the famous Capuchin. Last year, an official request was made to the San Giovanni Rotondo Sanctuary with the support of the local authorities.

On March 21, 2019, the Father Guardian kindly granted the priests of the Society of Saint Pius X the custody of this mitten: “In recognition of the patient work accomplished by Fr. Rubio and his fellow priests and of the perseverance with which they spread the message and spirituality of Fr. Pio, as well as to maintain their charity towards the sick and the people who suffer or live in precarious situations.”

In a statement, the District Superior expressed his gratitude to the San Giovanni Rotondo Sanctuary. Padre Pio (1887-1968) remains an example of prayer and self-sacrifice, but also of devotion to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—he only ever celebrated the Mass of St. Pius V—and of Marian piety. Faithful to the daily Rosary, he shone through the ministry of confession and the exercise of fraternal charity. He even founded a hospital to relieve the suffering of the poor and sick.

Blessed with the stigmata like St. Francis, the Capuchin is also an example of priestly holiness and renunciation. He shows how the priest, by offering himself as a victim at each Mass, celebrates a true and authentic sacrifice.