CNA Staff, 10 April, 2024 / 12:00 pm (ACI Africa).
To mark its 10th anniversary, the Saint Pio Foundation in the United States is releasing 10 never-before-seen photographs of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, on April 29.
The candid images show the Italian priest celebrating Mass and deep in prayer but also in lighter moments of laughter, rarely captured of the friar. The foundation’s director, Luciano Lamonarca, discovered the photos when visiting photographer Elia Saleto’s studio.
EWTN News Vatican correspondent Colm Flynn sat down with Lamonarca in a recent interview for “EWTN News Nightly” to discuss the images. One of the most surprising photos was of Padre Pio smiling.
“One is nice because [it shows everybody] hey, Padre Pio is smiling. Yes, he was smiling because he was a man. So we always think that Padre Pio was a serious man. We know that faith is also about laughing … sometimes,” Lamonarca said.