Padre Pio

Padre Pio is one of the world's most beloved holy figures, more popular in Italy than the Virgin Mary and even Jesus. His tomb is the most visited Catholic shrine anywhere, drawing more devotees than Lourdes. His miraculous feats included the ability to fly and to be present in two places at once; an apparition of Padre Pio in midair prevented Allied warplanes from dropping bombs on his hometown. Most notable were his stigmata, hailed by millions as God-given yet viewed with suspicion by two popes - a controversy reignited by Sergio Luzzatto's discovery of a letter from Pio requesting a secret delivery of carbolic acid. Neither a worshipful hagiography nor a character assassination, "Padre Pio" is the first objective biography of this fascinating figure. A nuanced examination of the persistence of mysticism in the modern day, and a striking analysis of the links between Catholicism and twentieth-century politics, this profoundly original tale of wounds and wonder, salvation and swindle explores what it really means to be saint in our time.