O Mother, Your Beloved Son, Padre Pio Did Not Live on Bread Alone: Tuesday, June 16, 2020

J.M.J.

On this the eighteenth anniversary (2002) of the Canonization of Padre Pio by Saint Pope John Paul II, we hear from the Saint Pio Foundation:

"It is known that Padre Pio slept very little and that he spent countless hours between the confessional, celebrating the Mass, and meeting hundreds of people each day, who visited him from all over the world asking for a blessing or a miracle. But when we look into the daily habits of Padre Pio, a few questions often come to mind: how much did Padre Pio really eat and what were his favorite foods, if any? Undoubtedly, the demands of his work and the stresses on his body must have consumed a lot of energy, and yet it seems that he ate very little. Some days he ate nothing at all.

"In the morning, immediately after having celebrated Holy Mass, he used to stop briefly by the kitchen to take a sip of coffee. Only on Christmas day when he celebrated the birth of Jesus did he take a full cup of coffee. Nearly every day, he visited the canteen around noon, but he did that mostly to spend some time with his brother friars. When they insisted that he eat a little more, he would politely decline, protesting that he was full. Many observed that Padre Pio was able to survive several days by only eating the Eucharistic elements taken during the daily Mass. At lunch he typically would take only a few spoons of the main dish, which would consist of pasta or cooked vegetables. Occasionally he would also eat a little portion of an additional dish. Since nothing was allowed to be wasted, friars sitting near him invariably had to take up the task of eating anything he left on his plate. He did not eat any fruit, and he said more than once that he doubted if he ever ate more than one pound of bread in his entire life. At the end of lunch, he usually drank a half glass of wine, but on the hottest days of summer, he would enjoy a few sips of cold beer.

"He never joined his fellow friars for dinner, and he would often abstain from eating dinner altogether. When he did not feel well, those assisting him would bring a cup of tea made with medical herbs with the thought that it might help treat his kidney stones, a condition with which he was afflicted after 1951.

"These were the dietary habits of Padre Pio. His ordeal of enduring his spiritual and physical struggles was constantly visible to all those around him, even during his meals."