Besides the close friendship that Conchita had with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, about whom we have already said something in other posts of this blog, it seems important to us to comment also on the interventions of St. Pio of Pietrelcina related to the apparitions of Our Lady in Garabandal.
On page 146 of the book "Con Voz de Madre" (written about the apparitions of Fatima, Amsterdam and Garabandal) - which has recently been published in Spain under the title "Madre de Dios y Madre Nuestra" (Mother of God and Our Mother) - Padre Pio's relationship with Garabandal is described. We have already discussed his friendship with Joey Lomangino. We will now transcribe some paragraphs from the above-mentioned book, which describe three important moments in the history of Garabandal, related to St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and which occurred in the years 1962, 1966 and 1968.
Letter from Padre Pio (1962)
In March 1962, the girls received a letter in Italian from the stigmatized Holy Priest Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, dated March 3, where the relationship, of supernatural origin, with the apparitions of Garabandal is made clear. It says: "Dear Girls: At nine o'clock this morning the Blessed Virgin Mary spoke to me about you, dear girls, about your visions and told me:
Blessed little girls of San Sebastian de Garabandal, I promise you that I will be with you until the end of your life and you will be with me until the end of the world and then in the joy of paradise. I am sending you herewith a copy of the Holy Rosary of Fatima which the Blessed Virgin has ordered me to send you. This Rosary has been dictated by the Blessed Virgin and she wants it to be propagated for the salvation of sinners and for the preservation of mankind from the worst punishments with which the good God is threatening. There is only one recommendation: PRAY and make PRAY, because the world is on the road to perdition. They do not believe in you or in your conversations with the white Lady, but they will believe when it is too late".
Conchita's interview with Padre Pio (1966)
When Conchita was summoned to Rome in January 1966, she took the opportunity to travel with her mother to San Giovanni Rotondo where she was able to meet Padre Pio. During that visit, he himself commented that he had been in Garabandal on June 18, 1965, probably in one of his frequent bilocations. As already indicated, on that day the Archangel Michael appeared to Conchita to give the Second Message. Of that visit to Padre Pio Conchita recounts the following: "I remember that I had the crucifix kissed by Our Lady, and that I said to Padre Pio: "This is the Cross kissed by the Blessed Virgin. Would you like to kiss it?"
Padre Pio then took the Christ and placed it in the palm of his left hand, on the stigma. He then took my hand, which he placed on the crucifix, closing the fingers of that hand over my hand; with his right hand he blessed my hand and the cross. He did the same with my mother when she told him to please bless her rosary, also kissed by Our Lady. I was on my knees the whole time I was before him. He held my hand, with the cross, while he spoke to me".
Conchita receives the "veil" that covered Padre Pio's face after his death (1968).
When Padre Pio died in 1968, Conchita was bewildered, as she knew she was to "see the Miracle" announced by Our Lady at Garabandal. But a few weeks later, on October 16, 1968, almost at nightfall, a telegram arrived in Garabandal, coming from Lourdes, urging her to set out immediately to receive something from Padre Pio. Father Alfred Combe and Bernard L'Huillier from France were in town at the time and agreed to take Conchita and her mother to Lourdes. They left the same night.
At Lourdes they met with Padre Pio's emissaries from Italy, among whom was Padre Bernardino Cennamo, O.F.M. Padre Cennamo told Conchita that he had not believed in the apparitions of Garabandal until Padre Pio asked him to give her the veil that would cover his face after his death.
The veil and the letter were given to Conchita, who asked Father Cennamo:
- "Why did Our Lady tell me that Padre Pio was going to see the Miracle and he has died?"
The Father answered her:
- "Padre Pio saw the Miracle before he died. He told me so himself.
Upon returning home, Conchita decided to write this. Conchita says: "(...) I had the veil before my eyes as I was writing when suddenly the whole room was filled with a fragrance. I had heard about Padre Pio's fragrances, but I had never given them much thought. The whole room smelled so strongly perfumed that I began to cry. It was the first time this happened to me after his death.