On this day, we left Naples and headed across Italy to San Giovanni Rotondo, 140 miles away. We passed many  wind farms that are successful in creating renewable energy, and of course, olive groves that are known around the world for their oil. At today’s lunch stop, I thoroughly enjoyed arancini, rice balls that have been stuffed with meat or cheese and then deep fried, while Nick was happy with his wrap containing prosciutto, cheese, and arugula. We reached  San Giovanni Rotondo, the town in which San Padre Pio lived. Many groups need hotel  lodging in the town, and we were lucky to find one that could accommodate us. We stayed at a small but comfortable pilgrimage hotel, Albergo Villa Bianca.

In this town, a pious priest named Francesco Forgione became Padre Pio after he received the stigmata of Christ. The church in which Padre Pio worshipped was called Santa Maria delle Grazie, (Our Lady of Grace) or “The Old Church”, which had been built in the 16th century and had many additions since then.

Father  Kumar  was  one  of  the  celebrants  at  a  mass  that day.

Eventually more room was needed for worshipers, so the New Church was constructed. It opened in 1956.  The  building  has  multiple  levels  and  hallways,  filled with contemporary mosaics.

Padre Pio was responsible for the construction of a hospital called Casa Sollievo della Soffereza, Home for the Relief of Suffering, both physical and psychological.  He was canonized into sainthood by Pope John Paul II  in 2002.

For dinner that night we enjoyed tortellini in brodo, a chicken leg and thigh, fries, and fresh fruit.

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