He was alone in prayer when a man appeared out of nowhere…




One day while praying alone, Padre Pio opened his eyes to see an old man standing there. He was surprised by the presence of another person in the room and explained in his testimony, “I could not imagine how he could have entered the friary at this time of night since all the doors were locked.”



Seeking to unravel the mystery, Pio asked the man, “Who are you? What do you want?”

The man responded, “Padre Pio, I am Pietro Di Mauro, son of Nicola, nicknamed Precoco. I died in this friary on the 18th of September, 1908, in cell number 4, when it was still a poorhouse. One night, while in bed, I fell asleep with a lighted cigar. The mattress caught fire and I died a terrible death. I am still in purgatory. I need a holy Mass in order to be freed. God permitted that I come and ask you for help.”

Pio comforted the poor soul by saying, “Rest assured that tomorrow I will celebrate Mass for your liberation.”

The man left and the next day Pio did some investigative work, discovering that a man of the same name died on that day in 1908. Everything was confirmed and Padre Pio celebrated a Mass for the repose of the man’s soul.

This was not the only appearance of a soul from purgatory asking Padre Pio for prayers. Pio claimed, “As many souls of the dead come up this road [to the monastery] as souls of the living.” Many times the souls would ask for a Mass to be said for them, highlighting the spiritual weight of a Mass and how it can lessen the time a person spends in purgatory before embracing the glories of heaven.


"Viva Padre Pio"


One night in 1944 the friars heard loud voices coming from downstairs saying "Viva Padre Pio!"

The superior Padre Raffaele da S. Elia a Pianisi told the doorkeeper, Fra Gerardo da Deliceto, to let those people out and lock the door properly.

Fra Gerardo went downstairs, didn't find anybody, and the door was double locked as it was every night.

He went back to report. Padre Raffaele was puzzled and went straight to Padre Pio asking if he knew something about this strange occurrence.

With a total lack of agitation or surprise, Padre Pio responded, "Oh! Those were soldiers who had died on the battleground, and came to thank me for their salvation."


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