Building
work on the original church at San Giovanni Rotondo
began in 1540. The church was consecrated and dedicated
to Santa Maria delle Grazie with great solemnity
on 5 July 1676.
It has a charming lunette representing the Madonna
and child, Saint Francis and Saint Michael, the
archangel. The two memorial tablets at the sides
of the door were placed there by the local council
of San Giovanni Rotondo to commemorate two occasions:
Padre Pio's 50th year of being ordained to the priesthood
(10 August 1910 - 10 August 1960) and his 50th year
in San Giovanni Rotondo (1916-1966). Inside the
church is the altar of Saint Francis, where Padre
Pio said Mass from 1945 to 1959, and to the left
of the main door stands the confessional where Padre
Pio heard the confessions of women from 1935 to
his death. On the main altar stands the miraculous
statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, protectress
of San Giovanni Rotondo.
For many years Padre Pio said Mass in this little
church, confessing the faithful, exhorting and guiding
them. At the feet of the Madonna delle Grazie he
prayed and offered himself up for the sins of his
brothers in exile.
Padre Pio's Spirituality
Spiritual
school
"Let
us always trust in God, and may our lively faith and the comfort of Christian
hope assist us in this. We must pray continually, moreover, that peace may soon
smile on the nations. We should turn our thoughts to heaven, our true homeland,
of which our earthly country is but a dim image, and make every effort with the
divine assistance to preserve at all times, amidst happy or sad events, the cheerful
calm that becomes the true followers of the fair Nazarene" (Epist. I,
p. 596)
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Minor Capuchin Friars of San Giovanni Rotondo
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