Shrine of Padre Pio, Saintly Stigmatic

Landisville, New Jersey

Padre Pio (1887-1968) was a Roman Catholic saint famous for his supernatural abilities and stigmata, which were so copious that he had to wear gloves to soak up the blood. Although he supposedly had the power of bilocation, he never officially visited New Jersey in his lifetime. That didn't stop Marie and Pete D'Andrea, Italian-American farmers, from building a shrine to Padre Pio on their property. It was completed in 2002, the same year that Padre Pio was canonized as a saint. The D'Andreas believe that the four-story-high cowling that shields the shrine's life-size statue of the saint makes it the tallest Padre Pio shrine in the world.

The shrine is popular with the faithful, who trust the Padre's promise that he would work even harder in heaven to heal the sick than he had on earth. His famous theological maxim, "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry," is featured on a sign outside the shrine, as is his smiling likeness (which bears a resemblance to Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi).

On Wednesday evenings in the Spring and Summer, visitors are invited to pray the Rosary at the shrine. It is at those times that the D'Andrea family sometimes brings out its Padre Pio relics, including one of his blood-stained gloves.