30 Gold crypt, Mosaics, Monumental Way of the Cross
Ramp to the crypt and walls of the crypt
The wall of the ramp leading to the lower church and the crypt are adorned with magnificent mosaics.
They depict stories from the life of St. Francis, Padre Pio, the Gospel, and the Old Testament.
They are works of art from the atelier in Rome of Padre Marko Ivan Rupnik,
a brilliant Jesuit theologian and artist from Slovenia.
His collaborators come from many different countries and various Christian backgrounds.
The ceiling has tiles of different sizes and shapes covered with gold.
The whole complex of Saint Padre Pio has been realized with
the donations of the faithful.
1 Padre Pio answering mail 2 Padre Pio visiting cardinal Mindszenty in prison without leaving the convent
3 Padre Pio in fellowship with friars 4 The Prayer Groups 5 Padre Pio blesses professionals
6 Padre Pio celebrates Mass alone by disposition of the Holy Office 7 Padre Pio prays to Christ crucified
8 Padre Pio fights an ugly giant 9 Padre Pio sick at home taken care of by his parents
10 Padre Pio on the Cross with Christ
11 Padre Pio "Alter Christus" 12 Mary Pyle greeting Padre Pio at the gate of heaven
13 The hospital Casa Sollievo (Home for the Relief of Suffering)
1 An angel plays music for St. Francis 2 St. Francis presents the 2nd and 3rd orders of franciscans
3 St. Francis with the sultan Saladin 4 St. Francis transforms water in wine 5 St. Francis sends the friars to preach
6 St. Francis tempted by the devil 7 St. Francis at the entrance of St. Michael's shrine
8 St. Michael with St. Francis 9 St. Francis at St. Damien's church
10 St. Francis embraces the leper 11 The baptism of St. Francis 12 Chariot of fire
13 St. Francis brings bread to a fasting friar 14 St. Francis stripped of his possessiones
1 Jesus in the garden 2 Jesus on the Cross 3 Jesus with the adultress 4 Jesus with the leper
5 Jesus sad over Jerusalem 6 Jesus chasing the merchants from the temple
7 Jesus baptized by John the Baptist 8 Jesus with two disciples of John the Baptist
9 Jesus tempted by the devil 10 Jesus found in the synagogue by his parents
11 Jesus expelled from the synagogue 12 Fleeing to Egypt
13 Thomas examines the wounds 14 Jesus with Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany
15 The Nativity 16 Crucifix
17 Christ in glory 18 The Annunciation 19 The three young men in the furnace
The crypt (lower church)
The body of Padre Pio visible in the crypt of the new San Pio church.
On June 1, 2013, in a ceremony presided by Cardinal Angelo Amato,
prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints,
the body of Padre Pio has been made permanently visible.
The glass urn is located in the same spot where it has been in recent years, in a casket,
in the new sanctuary dedicated to Saint Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo.
The mortal remains can be seen in the crypt, through a window in the majestic pillar
from where the enormous arches, holding the magnificent church,
stem
Overall view
The fourteen Stations
Padre Pio is represented in the fifth station as the cyrenian
The cornerstone of the Monumental Way of the Cross was blessed on September 22, 1968,
just hours before Padre Pio's death.
The time capsule in buried under the statue of Padre Pio. It was
inaugurated on August 9, 1981.
The spectacular bronze Stations, immersed in a sloping pine forest,
come
from the renowned Sicilian artist Francesco Messina.
Thank you!
The end.