PALM BEACH GARDENS | St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) is one of the most revered 20th-century saints, and even though many would like to visit the area of Italy that he called home, taking a pilgrimage is out of reach for most. So, the saint known as the “man of hope and healing” is coming to the Diocese of Palm Beach as part of an exclusive Florida engagement.

On Monday, Sept. 16, the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola, 9999 N. Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens, will host events that will include veneration of five St. Pio relics, rare photos of the saint and the pre-release screening of the new docudrama, “Saint Pio of Pietrelcina: Man of Hope and Healing,” produced by the Saint Pio Foundation and EWTN. Veneration of the relics will begin at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 5:30 p.m., with Mass at 6 p.m. followed by showing of the hour-long film.

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Born Francesco Forgione in 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, the future St. Pio entered the Capuchin order at age 15 and was ordained a priest in 1910, according to OSV News. Between 1915 and 1918, he served intermittently in the Italian Army’s medical corps during World War I, but was ultimately discharged due to poor health. He returned to his monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy, and in 1918 received the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), the first priest to receive such marks in the history of the Catholic Church.

Amid sustained physical and spiritual suffering — compounded by austerity and long hours of prayer — he established Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, now a renowned national research hospital located in San Giovanni Rotondo. The Capuchin also devoted himself to the healing of souls, often spending more than 15 hours a day hearing confessions. Padre Pio died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002 by then-St. John Paul II, with whom he had been friends since 1947.