San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, Apr 19, 2010 / 15:02 pm
After 42 years in the crypt of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, St. Padre Pio's body was moved into the new St. Pio of Pietrelcina Church on Monday afternoon. Archbishop Michele Castoro of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, who had recently defended the need for the transfer, presided over the celebration.
On Monday afternoon, a group of 12 friars wheeled the ornate silver vessel containing the body of the saint on a cart in procession from its former resting place to the mosaic-covered crypt of the St. Pio of Pietrelcina Church. Italian news reports described a scene of thousands of people on hand for the move.
After vespers, the friars accompanied the cart along the route to the new church as the faithful sang hymns. Once inside the church, the procession stopped for 15 minutes so that the relics could be venerated and so Archbishop Castoro could pause for a moment of prayer.
The archbishop said that "even today, venerating the relics of the Capuchin saint, we are encouraged to imitate his Christian virtues, able to be redirected to a single great path: that of love, love towards God and love towards our neighbor.