As I mentioned in my previous post, last Friday I celebrated a Mass at the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo on the feast day of Padre Pio to mark the 20th anniversary of his canonization.

We made the four-hour drive from Rome Thursday night and arrived in time for dinner.

After dinner, they had a vigil for young people with a midnight Mass that was celebrated by the vicar general of our order, Father Jose Angel from Puerto Rico.

The next morning, we had the Mass at the Basilica, where we were joined by several bishops, including the Archbishop of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, Archbishop Franco Moscone.

There were thousands of people there for both the vigil and the Mass and it's always very moving to see the devotion of the people.

As part of the celebration, there was a blessing of three statues by the Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, who is very well known for his sculptures "Homeless Jesus" and the "Angels Unawares."

One statue we blessed appears to be a beggar when you look at it from one side but an angel when you look from the other. The others depict Padre Pio -- one with him in conflict with the demons, and another one with the Blessed Virgin.



San Giovanni Rotondo

During my time at San Giovanni Rotondo, I was able to visit the shrine and the crypt.

In the crypt where Padre Pio is buried, there is a long hallway with mosaics of scenes from the life of Padre Pio on one side and from the life of St. Francis of Assisi on the other.

They were created by Father Marko Rupnik, a Jesuit who teaches at the Gregorian University who considers Padre Pio's shrine his masterpiece.

There are just an incredible amount of mosaics that he has designed to adorn the shrine. In fact, many years ago, we had a meeting of all the Capuchin bishops of the world and Father Rupnik came down from Rome and gave us an explanation of all the theology that is depicted in the mosaics. It was fabulous, just like a retreat.



The Volto Santo

On the way back to Rome, we stopped at the shrine of the Volto Santo (Holy Face) of Manoppello, which I had heard of but didn't know much about. It is in the Basilica of the Holy Face that has been run by the Capuchins for 400 years.

The Volto Santo is an image of Christ's face on cloth. Some say it's the actual Veil of Veronica. I'm not sure I can settle that question, but it was a very interesting stop!



Boston meeting

By Saturday, I was back in Boston and met with the Archbishop of Kingston, Jamaica, Kenneth Richards. He was here in Boston to celebrate the ordination anniversary of a friend and stopped in to see me.

I had met him when I was visitator for the seminaries in Kingston. And, of course, when I was Bishop of the Virgin Islands, I participated in the Antilles Bishops Conference and I had a lot of contacts with Jamaica. So, it was very good to see him.