Padre Pio of Pietrelcino – Mystic of the 20th Century

Abstract

Mystical experiences are for the human mind an incomprehensible reality. The ori­gins of Christian mysticism are to be found in the theologies of Saint John and Saint Paul. This article deals with one of the greatest mystics in Christendom, Padre Pio of Pietrelcino. The first section deals with mysticism in general, that is, with the features of natural mysticism, supernatural mysticism and of the three most fundamental types of Christian mysticism: apostolic, affective and speculative mysticism. The second section is devoted to Padre Pio of Pietrelcino, and here the author offers an explanation based on testimonials and doctors' reports as to why the mystical phenomena which occurred in his life have their source in the Supernatural. Today, unfortunately, many teachers of psychology claim that mystics are persons whose neuropathic or psychopathic problems are manifested through stigmata, ecstatic states and the like. The doctors who studied Padre Pio 's case have excluded the possibility of any type of insufficiency on the psychological level and they have concluded that the phenomena occurring in Padre Pio's life cannot be explained scientifically: their cause should be sought in the sphere of the Supernatural with no fear of the possibility of deviation from the truth.