Padre Pio's celestial perfumes

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One day, a famous Doctor had removed a bandage from a sore on padre Pio’s chest. The gauze  was saturated with the blood and the doctor had enclosed it in a container in order to bring the gauze to his laboratory. During the trip to Rome to analyze the gauze, an Officer and other people that were traveling with the doctor said “they smelled the perfume that usually emanated from padre Pio”. Not one of those persons knew that the doctor had the gauze soaked with the blood of St. Padre Pio in the container. The doctor saved that gauze in his laboratory, and the strange perfume had stayed in the room for long time, so that when the patients went to him for the medical visits, they asked him for an explanation.

Friar Modestino said: “Once I was on vacation at St. Giovanni Rotondo. I went to Padre Pio in the sacristy that morning to serve the Holy Mass, but other monks were already arguing in the sacristy as to who would have this privilege. Padre Pio interrupted those discussions by saying – ‘only he will serve the Holy Mass’ - and he pointed me out!  I accompanied Padre Pio to St. Francis altar, I closed the gate, and I started to serve the Holy Mass in profound awe. When the Mass got to the point of the “Sanctus” I suddenly had a desire to smell again that indescribable perfume that I had already perceived when I had kissed Padre Pio’s hand. The desire was immediately granted me and it was like I was wooed by St. Pio’s perfume. The perfume increased more and more, so much so that the perfume caused me to breathe irregularly. I leaned my hand on the communion rail so as not to fall! I was about to faint when I mentally asked Padre Pio to save me from embarrassment in front of the people. In that precise instant the perfume disappeared. In the evening, while I accompanied him to his room, I asked Padre Pio for an explanation about that phenomenon. He answered me: “My child, I am not able to explain it. “God intervenes to allow somebody to smell the perfume whenever He wants.”

From my small window (I was on one side of the confessional) I saw that Padre Pio was hearing the confession of a lady on the other side.  While I thought that I was going to speak to the saint, I was wooed by a strong perfume of lilies. Yet, this really got me confused, because I had never believed the stories of the perfumes, and so I myself was convinced that  padre Pio’s perfumes really existed.

A lady from Bologna, who was 24 years old, had her right arm fractured. The same arm had been operated three years prior because of a serious accident. After an operation followed by a long painful recovery the surgeon told the girl’s father that she would not have use of the arm anymore. In fact the arm was completely immobile, because of the removal of a section of the shoulder blade. A bone graft had not succeeded!   Father and injured daughter departed for St. Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio met them, he blessed them and he declared: “Above all do not despair! Confide in God! The arm will recover.” Toward the end of July, 1930 the woman returned to Bologna without any improvement of her arm. Was it possible to think that Padre Pio had been wrong? For months nobody thought anymore of the problem. On the 17th.of September (the celebration of the stigmata of St. Francis), suddenly, the apartment where the family lived became scented by a delicious odor of jonquils and roses. The scented phenomenon lasted about a quarter of an hour while everybody tried to understand where that perfume originated. From that day the girl started to use her arm again. An X-Ray which she preserved jealously, showed that the bone and the cartilage were completely fused and healed.

A man said: “One day I decided to follow my wife’s suggestion to go see Padre Pio. It had been twenty-five years precisely from the day of my marriage since I had seen the inside of a church. I felt my years of guilt weighing me down and I needed to confess my sins, but as soon as I was next to Padre Pio, he said brusquely (without looking at me): “Go away!”  I answered: “I am here to confess, that you may give me Jesus’ absolution.”  I had spoken roughly to him, but he roughly responded: “I have said: “Go away.” I went away running across the garden from the small Church then onto the hotel. My wife, who had seen me go out of the Church, reached me at the hotel. “What has happened? What are you doing?” she questioned me.  “I am packing my suitcase and I am leaving,” I answered.  At that moment a cloud of perfume wooed me. It was an intense perfume, marvellous to the senses. I was confused. It soothed me instantly and I felt inside me a great desire to return to Padre Pio. It took me a day to muster enough courage to return to the Padre.  I prepared myself, carefully I examined my conscience before meeting the Padre who kindly welcomed me and gave me absolution I needed.”

A lady said: “My husband was in an automobile accident and was critically injured. He was transported to the hospital in Taranto, Italy. The doctors had no hope of his survival. On the hospital grounds there was a shrine dedicated to Padre Pio.  Before visiting my husband I would stop and pray to Padre Pio for my husband’s recovery.  One day, as I stood there praying, the “Saintly” Pio smells, a marvellous perfume of lilies engulfed me.  I took it as a sign that my prayer request had been heard. From that moment on, the condition of my husband improved and he healed from the injuries he sustained.”

A gentleman from Toronto said: “In 1947, my wife that fell seriously ill and was hospitalised in Rome, requiring surgery. I travelled to St. Giovanni, Rotondo to see Padre Pio.  While I was there, the good Padre heard my confession.  After receiving the absolution, I talked to the Padre about my wife’s condition. Then I asked him: “Father, help me to pray!” Immediately I smelled a delicious and persistent perfume that surprised me. I returned home in the late evening. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled again that same scent that I had smelled when I was next to Father Pio. I became confident. My wife underwent the operation without any problems. I told her the marvellous experience that I had and together we thanked Padre Pio.”

A married couple in England were experiencing problems and were at a point of despair. They did not know where to turn to.  Someone spoke to them about Padre Pio. They wrote to Padre Pio about their problems but did not receive any answer.  They, then decided to go to St. Giovanni Rotondo to meet the Padre and obtain his wise counsel. From England to Puglia (Italy), the journey was long! Moreover, it was in the middle of winter with snowy conditions prevailing.  Despite the weather, they embarked on their journey. They spent their first night in Bern in a lowly hotel for that was all they could afford.  Doubts filled them once more. They wondered what they would do if the Padre did not receive them. Should they continue with their journey or turn back. As they were debating on their options, the room was filled with a sweet, intoxicating perfume,  that had a very relaxing effect on them. The woman began to look for the source of the perfume and thought that some distracted traveller, before them had left a bottle of perfume in the room. The search for the perfume’s source was fruitless! Awhile later the perfume smell faded away and the room emanated the usual odor of a stench. The married couple shared their experience with the innkeeper. He was surprised as it was the first time that any of his clients believed to have smelled perfume in their room. The couple instead took it as a sign to continue with their journey to St. Giovanni Rotondo and to meet Padre Pio. When they got there, the young man, who was well versed in Italian, spoke to the Padre in Italian:  “We wrote to you, Father, but since you have not answered us…”  “What?” Padre Pio interrupted saying: “ Why do you tell me I did not answer you? Did you not smell anything that evening in the Swiss hotel?” The two lovers were joyful and full of thankfulness. They understood then, the perfume that they had smelled in the room of the hotel, was the perfume of Padre Pio. With just a few words of counselling, Padre Pio helped them to resolve their problems.”

A gentleman met Father Pio through a series of strange coincidences. He says: “The first time I heard somebody speak of this extraordinary religious man was after the war. A friend of mine knew the Padre well. He spoke enthusiastically of him. But I thought to myself his stories about the holy man were a bit much. So I must confess my initial reactions were indifference and disbelief. This was especially true when my friend told me about various phenomena attributed to Padre Pio, especially the scent of perfumes. “Many people claim to detect an aroma of perfume even when they are not any where near the sainted Friar.  You can imagine my surprise when this started to happen to me. I would catch the aroma of violets in unusual places, where even the hint of a flower could not be found. I began to wonder about myself. I started to doubt my senses. I even told myself I must be dreaming. “One day the phenomenon happened when I was on vacation with my wife. I had gone to the post office to mail a letter. The post office in question did not normally lace its air with perfume. I don’t know of any that do. But all of a sudden I smelled the unmistakable odor of violets. Catching the scent, my wife said to me ‘ Where is this odor of perfume coming from?’ Excitedly, I asked her ‘Can you smell it too?’ “Then I told my wife about Padre Pio and about the stories of unusual perfumed aromas surrounding his presence. These aromas could be detected even if one were at a distance from the good Padre. My wife was moved. She said to me: ‘If I were you, I would leave for San Giovanni Rotondo right away.’ The next  day, we were on our way. We met with Padre Pio and he said to me ‘Ah, here is our hero. How much effort I expended to get you here.’ That same day, I had a chance to speak with Padre Pio personally. From that moment on, my life was changed.”

Another person once remarked : “Some years ago, I had a heart attack. The doctors recommended  I undergo surgery to improve my condition. I  entered the hospital at once. It was in June 1991. During the surgery, the doctors did a quadruple bypass. When I awoke from the anesthesia, my leg and right arm were paralyzed . I was really discouraged. After awhile, my faith returned and I began to pray to Padre Pio for help. I pleaded with him for three days. On the third day, as I was finishing my prayer, despite being surrounded by other patients, I noticed something significant. I caught a whiff of an overwhelming aroma of flowers. When the perfumed aroma faded, I felt a sensation in my right leg. I knew at once my prayers had been answered.”

A woman tells this story: “I had great problems with both of my eyes. I experienced pain and could see very little. I consulted several doctors and after several examinations, they gave me the diagnosis: irreversible ocular hemorrhage. They added  there was a probably a tumor present also. To make matters worse, the doctors told me  this form of blindness was final. There was no cure. “Upon hearing this bad news, I became very depressed and anxious. I was on a trip and I knew I would be passing close to Benevento. So I decided to go as far as Pietreicina, where I would have an opportunity to visit Padre Pio’s monastery. During my visit to one of the last rooms where St. Pio had lived, I was deeply moved. I had been praying for my relatives and all of a sudden, caught the scent of an intense burst of incense. “While I was returning to Rome by train, I thought a lot about what had happened in that room in Padre Pio’s monastery   I decided to plead with Padre Pio to heal my damaged eyes. I turned to him with as much faith as I could muster. Padre Pio didn’t  take long to hear my prayers. In fact, my sight progressively improved and before too long, I was totally healed. The doctors who examined me later could not believe I was completely and inexplicably recovered.”

A man from Canicatti (Sicily, Italy) tells this story “At the start of 1953, my wife was pregnant. The problem was she also had a serious kidney problem. The doctors told her that because of this kidney problem, ‘the child’s life was in danger.’ Any surgery performed to correct this problem had to succeed, or else. On May 3rd, I was desperate. I wrote a letter to Padre Pio asking for his help. A few days later, my wife and I were in different rooms, yet at the same time, we both smelled a mysterious aroma of roses. At that precise moment, the mail carrier knocked on our door and delivered a letter to us from the monastery of St. Giovanni Rotondo. We read that Padre Pio would pray for my wife and our unborn child. The next day, my wife underwent another medical exam and we were told by the examining physician the kidney ailment had disappeared.”

A lawyer who was very devoted to Father Pio says:  “Once I was in the old church in the monastery attending one of Padre Pio’s long Masses. At the moment of the consecration of the Sacred Host, I became distracted. I was the only person standing in the middle of the crowd of believers who were all kneeling. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed  by a powerful aroma of violets. The scent was so strong it jolted me back to the present moment. Looking around me, I knelt down without thinking anything about the unusual perfume that hovered above me. As was my custom, after the Mass was over, I went to greet Padre Pio. He welcomed me saying ‘Were you a little disoriented today?’ I sheepishly said ‘Yes, Padre. I have been a bit absent-minded today, but fortunately, your perfume woke me up.’ He said simply.: ‘For you, perfume is not necessary. For you, slaps are necessary.’”