Solid Timeline of a Complicated Man

Saint Pio (Pius) of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione) may have strived to be a simple Capuchin Catholic priest, but when all is told, the stories of St. Padre Pio's life and death could fill several hundred pages. Being faced with that much information, it is hard to choose what and how much to put in a short biography. I have studied the life of this saint, and found that the author was careful in picking out pertinent details that rounded out this short biography. The author was able to build a solid timeline with these facts that kept me interested but not overwhelmed. St. Padre Pio suffered greatly all through his life, and yet had no fear of dying. He made death less scary by telling his followers that upon his death - he would be able to do more for people than he could in life. St. Padre Pio was humble in life; Mr. North has done a phenomenal job of showing what a wonderful man he truly was. This book is written for a wide audience, not too complicated - and not so simple adults would not want to read it. I am very comfortable in recommending this book for those seeking some answers to the mysterious life of St. Padre Pio. ( )

I downloaded this fast read onto my Kindle Fire, free from Amazon. I had heard about Saint Padre Pio so was interested in reading about him. This humble man lived during part of my lifetime. It is obvious the author did considerable research finding out minute details of Padre Pio's life.

Padre Pio was an amazing man with a strong devotion to Jesus Christ. He had an early calling to the priesthood and pursued that calling. He was granted the stigmata at an early age. I was stunned to read how he prayed for the signs of the stigmata to go away but for the pain to remain. His prayers were granted! Only the pain remained! The visible signs did not return until much later in his life.

In addition to details of Padre Pio's life, there are some of his meaningful prayers included in this book. I found it well worth my time to read about this holy man and the good he did on earth. What a beautiful example he set for others to follow. ( )