Thursday, July 30, 2009

PADRE PIO AND GARABANDAL


Tom & Susan sent me this so I thought I'd post it today. 

"I knew some of this but the entire story is very interesting.  Hope you enjoy."

Susan
 
When Padre Pio is officially declared a Saint by Pope John Paul II, Conchita Gonzalez will be there. She is one of hundreds of thousands who met him while he was alive, and would never be the same again. However, Conchita Gonzalez did not only meet him; she became one of the dearest persons to Padre Pio's heart. And it all began with an apparition of Our Lady.
On March 3, 1962, a letter arrived in Garabandal addressed to all four visionaries. It was written in Italian, and had an Italian stamp, but wasn't postmarked. Nor was it signed. By the handwriting, and the style of the letter, it was clear it could have only come from Padre Pio. The letter said:
"My Dear Children,
"At nine o'clock this morning the Holy Virgin told me to say to you: 'O Blessed young girls of San Sebastian de Garabandal! I promise you that I will be with you until the end of the centuries, and you will be with Me during the end of the world and later, united with Me in the Glory of Paradise.'
Padre Pio continued:
I am sending you a copy of the Holy Rosary of Fatima, which the Virgin told me to send you. The Rosary was composed by the Virgin and should be propagated for the salvation of sinners and preservation of humanity from the terrible punishments with which the good God is threatening it. I give you only one counsel: PRAY and get others to pray, because the world is at the beginning of perdition.
They do not believe in you or in your conversations with the Lady in White. BUT THEY WILL BELIEVE YOU WHEN IT WILL BE TOO LATE"
The next time the Blessed Virgin appeared to the girls later that day, Conchita showed Her the letter and asked Her who it came from. Our Lady replied that Padre Pio had sent it. With the help of the new schoolteacher in Garabandal, Conchita composed a reply and sent it to the famous stigmatist. She asked him to come soon to visit her in her village. Another letter came to Garabandal from him in which he wrote: "Do you think I can just come and go by the chimney?" (Conchita did not understand what a cloister was and didn't know Padre Pio wasn't free to travel about.)
Conchita, on making her pilgrimage to Rome in February 1967 at the request of Cardinal Ottaviani, Prefect of the Holy Office (now called the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith), had to wait a day to see the Cardinal. So, accompanied by her mother, a spanish priest, Father Luna, a spanish professor, Enrico Medi, and Princess Cecile of Bourbon, decided to see Padre Pio. They were told Padre Pio couldn't be seen until the next morning, after he said the 5 am Mass.
After the Mass the next day, Father Luna and Professor Medi met with the stigmatist in the sacristy. When the priest told Padre Pio that the Princess from Spain was there to see him, Padre Pio replied, "I don't feel very well and won't be able to see her until later in the day." Then Professor Medi said to him, "There is another lady who wants to see you. Conchita wants to see you."
Padre Pio asked, "Conchita of Garabandal?" The professor answered "yes." Padre Pio said, "Come at eight o'clock this morning."
"When we arrived," Conchita would recount later, "we were brought into a small room, a cell, which had one bed, a chair, and a small table. I ask Padre Pio if this were his room or whether he slept here or not, and he replied, 'Oh no, you cannot see my room. This is a rich room.' At the time I did not realize what a holy man Padre Pio was, as I know him to be now. I was very young at the time. I was only 16."
The only ones with Conchita were her mother, Father Luna, and a priest from Padre Pio's monastery who spoke Spanish and was taking alot of pictures. The priest then asked Padre Pio if he could take his picture, and the stigmatist replied, "You have been taking them since you came in."
Conchita had a crucifix kissed by Our Lady with her, and she told Padre Pio what it was, and asked him to bless it. He took the crucifix from her and placed it in his left hand, over the Stigmata. Then he took Conchita's hand and placed it on top of the crucifix in his palm, and then he closed his fingers over her hand. With his right hand he blessed first Conchita's hand, and then the crucifix. He did the same thing for Aniceta Gonzalez, Conchita's mother, who brought her rosary kissed by the Virgin. The photographs taken by the priest are still at the monastery, the friars reluctant to make them public because Garabandal is not recognized by the Church yet. Nevertheless these photos are important documents that verify Conchita's meeting with Padre Pio. Although Padre Pio is going to be canonized this summer by Pope John Paul II, the photographs are still not expected to be made public until after the Church approves the apparitions, or at least not until after the Warning and the Miracle have taken place.
When Conchita found out Padre Pio died in Sept. 1968, she met his close friend, Father Bernardino Cennamo, at Lourdes, and asked him, "How is it that Our Lady told me Padre Pio would see the Miracle and he has died?" Father Cenammo responded, "Padre Pio saw the Miracle before he died. He told me himself."The priest gave Conchita one of the three veils that covered Padre Pio's face during his wake, saying that the stigmatist had requested this before he died. He told her truthfully that he personally did not believe in the authenticity of Garabandal until Padre Pio requested this of him. Conchita also was given Padre Pio's rosary, and one of the gloves he wore, stained by his stigmata. She has these treasures preserved at her home in New York.
Padre Pio never ceased recommending pilgrims who asked him about Garabandal, to make a visit there. He told Joey Lomangino, (the next most significant individual in the story of the apparitions after the visionaries) that yes, the Virgin was appearing there, and yes he should go there. That trip would change Joey's life like he would never have believed.

9 comments:

  1. It is now 2009. Where is conchita gonzalez and when will she tell us about the promises events. She must be quite old by now, and i would like to know before i die what she has to say.
    John Jelly

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  2. Hi John Jelly, As I posted in the side bar, Conchita is living on Long, Island, N.Y. and also has a home in Fatima. As everyone know, she will announce the date of the Miracle 8 days beforehand, but remember the Miracle will come after the Warning. The Warning will prepare us and purify us for the Miracle. The Miracle will be televised (probably by EWTN) but if you travel to Garabandal for it, whatever illness you have will be healed! So we wait in patience for God's time & Will, not ours. Besides, if we are living our Faith in a state of grace, it doses not matter when the promised events come, we are already on the road to heaven. If we die, we will see the Events from Heaven! Peace!
    Deacon John

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  3. Thank you, I truly now believe pray for me because I did and did not know to believe but before tonight it was mostly because I love Padre Pio, so much and he only and he said to Joey go and he said it was real. But the contriditions I know to be of the evil one. Pray for me I want only to serve the Lord and when I went to San Giovanni Rot. to view St. Pio's body I asked him to accept me as his spiritual daughter I was told by Father Ermelindo that he he had but why do I feel empty as is Padre Pio is upset with me sometimes? I did feel that I acted as a hypocrit at some point but I pray for his prayers so much as much as too our Blessed Mother. I think I just keep making mistakes even though I am working so hard I asked our Father in Heaven to use me I surrended myself to his Divine Will but yet I sometimes think that I am only making this up in my head I know that Icouldn't possibly but sometimes I still do. I retrac in my mind each step while I was in San oh how beautifulPraise be to God for those who met in person. I have not dreamn't of him only have heard his name in my dream twice and I have asked each night to place a loving kiss on my cheek and let me know for sure that he loves me and I am truly his spiritual child. The night before my freind and I were to return to Rome after spending 10 days near the shrine I know that I did feel a presense and then soon another and it was a beautiful peaceful feeling and my heart told me that it was Padre Pio and an Angel I believed it was my Gaurdian Angel I did not want to move in my bed as not to disturb them into leaving. and as I prayed over and over that night I asked if it were him and my heart felt like he was answering yes and I saw a beautiful green florecent in the corner of the room finally I fell asleep and when I awoke a think a couple of hours later I still felt the presence and I thanked him. In the morning before we left we went to the shrine to say our good-by to Father Ermelindo and he confirmed that it was Padre Pio but then soon afterwards I have doubted and have wondered if I imagined it because I want so bad to have Padre Pio in my life. I only want to serve the Lord and be kissed on my cheek by Padre Pio. In my life I was visited by our Blessed Mother 3 times whilw I was expecting my children I have (6) and another to tell me that tell me with out talking that I would experience being ill again but that I would be ok. I do believe in the Angels because truly I was saved by Angels a couple of times in my life and once a message before the 9-11 but even with that I feel that I made it up. Please Pray for me. I will pray for all. God Bless. Rosaelia

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  4. Keep believing, dear Rosaelia, cause your faith and love is something beautiful for God!
    Blessings+

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  5. Thank You, Deacon John for responding and forgive me for so much writing and so many mistakes I only hope that you can make sense of my letters. I just have so much to share. God Bless you and your beautiful family. Please pray also for my insomnia. It does not bother me that much and I still get to do all that I need to do however It would be nice to be able to sleep like normal people and I do not wish to take any thing to aide in my sleep. I thank God however for this and if it be his will then he alone will help me continue to cope with it.
    Rosaelia

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  6. I'm happy to be your friend Rosaelia! We are all going through some type of struggle as the Lord purifies us for the great Events that are soon to come. I have my diabetes and arthritis pains, and other personal sufferings; my wife is struggling with kidney failure and the doctors request she go on dialysis; you have your sufferings; the Body of Christ is suffering all over the world but the resurrection will come soon and an Era of Peace promised by Our Lady. Just hang in there and offer up all your sufferings daily for Our Lady's intentions!
    Blessings+
    Deacon John

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  7. hello everyone,
    please pray for me my name is Katrina, i also am visited by the Blessed Mother and others saints and angels in my dreams and on certain ocassion in real life. it runs in the family to have spiritual dreams and visions and such. i feel as if we are edging closer and closer to the end. and i would very much appreciate all your prayers. i am a proud supporter of the Garabandal, Fatima, and Medjourge messages. i am young and very much need your prayers and prayers for all the youth of this world to see the light of Christ and to follow His footsteps. also to pray for priests and deacons and bishops and the pope. thank you all so very much and may the light of Christ shine upon you and may the Blessed Mother's mantle cover you and protect you all. thank you.

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  8. I read once somewhere that Conchita or Mari Lori or someone said the pope had died, shortly after their visit with Pope Paul II?

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  9. I know Conchita Gonzalez personally.. I was a child when I met her. I use to go to her house for prayer meetings and play with her children.. I have not seen her in YEARS because I moved from Queens, NY to Upstate.. She surely is a wonderful woman and so blessed..

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