Page 26 - Italian-American Herald - May 2024

26 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MAY2024 FAITH
ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
Elia Stelluto in his workshop, surrounded by his numerous photos of Padre Pio.
A photograph Stelluto took as a boy reveals the priest’s stigmata wounds.
Remembering Padre Pio,
the revered priest and mystic
By Barbara Ann Zippi
For followers of Padre Pio (1887-1968), May is an important month. St. Pio of Pietrelcina was born on May 25 and was beatified on May 2, 1999, then canonized in one of the largest ceremonies in history by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002.
He is revered as a priest and mystic,
who wrote in his letters he experienced supernatural phenomena including stigmata, marks on the skin corresponding to Jesus’ wounds when he was crucified.
Elia Stelluto was born in San Giovanni Rotondo in 1935 and first met Pio the capuchin friar during World War II, when he was 7. There was no school during the war, and Elia wandered the streets in search of food in the isolated mountaintop village where he lived.
One day Padre Pio invited young Elia and his friends to the convent in San Giovanni Rotondo. In exchange for nourishment, Stelluto learned to be an altar boy for Padre Pio. Stelluto credits Padre Pio with being the “father I didn’t have.”
He had the unique privilege to take photographs of St. Pio daily his entire life. He had the keys to come and go as he pleased.
He even recorded the last Mass celebrated by St. Pio as well as his last day on earth.
An estimated 7 million pilgrims visit the Padre Pio Shrine every year.
In February, my cousin Simona Nobilio and I journeyed up the mountainside to meet Stelluto. It is not an easy location to reach. Stelluto, almost 90, is still vibrant and articulate. With my cousin as translator, surrounded by private Padre Pio photos and camera equipment, he told stories about his career, and about St. Pio.
Stelluto shot thousands of photos revealing daily life and spirituality of the saint as they travelled the world together. It was
a journey that had begun when he was a teenager, and took a now-famous photo of Padre Pio’s ungloved stigmata. A professor of young Elia had requested it. There was also an incentive of 5,000 lira – the equivalent of just a few dollars, which he declined.
As an altar boy witnessing the stigmata daily at Mass, he recalls how, after they entered the sacristy, Padre Pio would take off his gloves and with his bare blood-stained hands, one at a time, invite the altar boys for a blessing. Stelluto watched professionals like Dr. Guglielmo Sanguinetti be transformed by Padre Pio and become his main collaborators
From left: Cathy Stanzione, Dr. Steven Stanzione, Craig Butler, Sal Ingallina, Pam Notarangelo and Ralph Colasanti at the Cooley’s Anemia symposium.
Distribution of Easter gifts caps month of UNICO events
in the construction of a hospital in the mountaintop village.
Stelluto is the only living historian and
LOCAL
photographer of Padre Pio. He walked with a saint for almost 60 years. Spending time with him was a humbling experience. IAH
Italian-American Herald
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. – La Festa di San Giuseppe on March 19 was celebrated in the traditional manner with a special service after the morning Mass at St. Edmond Church with blessing and distributing of the “Saint Joseph’s Bread” for attendees to take home and share with family and friends. The remaining bread was donated to a local food pantry.
On March 21, the Rehoboth Area Chapter of UNICO National hosted a symposium on Thalassemia (Cooley’s Anemia) with updates on research and progress in the search for
a cure. Directed by Dr. Steven Stanzione,
a retired hematologist and oncologist, the
keynote speakers were Craig Butler, executive director of the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, and Ralph Colasanti, the first thalassemia victim to serve as the foundation’s national president. Thanks to generous donations by local members and friends, the chapter was able to raise $1,000 to be donated to the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, which will be added to the annual amount granted by the UNICO National Foundation.
On March 26, Easter gifts purchased
with the profits of the Italian Movie Night in January, were created by Joan Borasky and her team of volunteers. Easter baskets were given to children 12 and younger, bags of candy and gift cards for those 13 and older. IAH
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