Saint Padre Pio, born Francesco Forgione on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy, was a revered Catholic friar, priest, and mystic. He is best known for his piety, charity, and the stigmata—wounds resembling those of Christ—he reportedly bore for most of his life. As a Capuchin friar, Padre Pio was entrusted with hearing confessions and offering spiritual guidance to numerous pilgrims who flocked to the San Giovanni Rotondo monastery to meet him. Despite skepticism and scrutiny from some church officials during his lifetime, Padre Pio's deep spirituality, mysterious ability for bilocation, and many reported miracles around him cemented his status as a beloved religious figure. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002, becoming one of the most venerated saints in modern Catholicism.