Did Padre Pio see the souls in Purgatory?
His closest friends and collaborators have provided various testimonies about the visions the saint experienced from his 20s until the last moments of life.
In his autobiographical book, “I…Witness of the Father,” Brother Modestino da Pietrelcina, spiritual son of Padre Pio, recalled his life with the saint.
In particular, he reported what happened when he visited his sick father:
“(…) I found him in bed. He had a fever. He had recently returned from San Giovanni Rotondo. (…) He told me that after confession, he had asked Father Pius, ‘Father, when will we see each other again?’
"And Padre Pio had replied: ‘We will see each other again in the afterlife. Say hello to our country.’
“I was upset. (…) returning to the convent, I wondered what he wanted to say. That night, I struggled to fall asleep. The next day, at dawn, my cousin Cosimo came to call me. (…) He told me that my father, at midnight, had tried to get out of bed, eager to get some air, but a stroke had killed him. I cried in silence and thought back to Padre Pio and the meaning of his words.”
Did Padre Pio see the souls in Purgatory?
“He (Father Pio) welcomed me with so much affection, gave me condolences and, when asked whether or not my father was in heaven, he replied: ‘He was the son of guilt. He has to serve his sentence.’ I realized that he was in Purgatory and asked, ‘Father, can I tell my family to have the Gregorian Masses celebrated in his suffrage?’ He replied, ‘If your family is in a position to do it, just say it!’ I went back to Pietrelcina. I went back to the village and the countryside for the questua and offered every step, every effort, every mortification, according to a single intention to support my father’s blessed soul. After a few months, Padre Pio called Fra Giovanni Iamarrone, my confrere of novitiate, for this assignment: ‘Tell Fra Modestino that his father is safe. He was saved by his prayers and his intentions. Now he’s in heaven.’"
Let us pray for the souls in Purgatory!
Eternal Rest Prayer
V. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
R. And let the perpetual light shine upon them.
And may the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.