Padre Pio’s Filipino Sacristan

“Could it really be true that Padre Pio once had a Filipino sacristan?”

In the 1960s, that would have been almost impossible with the great distance from the Philippines to the remote mountain village of San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy. However, nothing is impossible with God; He did bless our country with one little boy whose life would be touched profoundly by Padre Pio.

Dong, who was then a sickly 11 years old, was brought along on a European pilgrimage. Their last stop was San Giovanni Rotondo where they stayed for almost a week. On their first day there, Dong had to wear his cassock of St. Anthony as it was the custom at that time for a child to wear to Church the cassock of the Saint to whom he is dedicated. Due to the large number of pilgrims, his group went to the chapel very early so they could get seats. While waiting for the mass to begin, Dong got bored and went out to play with the statues of angels at the entrance.

A monk, dressed in a cassock like him, approached and asked if he could understand the Latin mass and if he knew how to be an altar boy. Dong answered “Yes, of course.” So he was asked to go along with the monk to the back of the chapel.

He served as altar boy in the mass that day, not realizing in his innocence who Padre Pio was. After mass, he was invited to eat with the monks in their dining room. This went on for several days while they were in San Giovanni. On his last day after the mass, while in the dining room, Padre Pio (whom he remembered to have hands and feet covered with bandages) told Dong, “Tomorrow you are leaving and going back to your country. Thank you for being my altar boy for the past few days. I would like to give you a gift. Take good care of this.” Dong was surprised then because he had not told anybody that they were leaving. The monk gave him a very sacred object as gift, also gloves for his other companions. It was only years later as an adult that Dong realized who Padre Pio was. After the canonization of Padre Pio, his gift was brought by a priest to Rome, then to San Giovanni where it was authenticated as genuinely belonging to the saint; this was then certified as a true relic.

As tribute to St. Pio, Dong sometimes allows the relic to be brought out for veneration by devotees.

Dong grew up to be deeply religious and pious, humble and keeps a low profile. He still remembers Padre Pio as a serious man when talking to the pilgrims but cheerful and laughed easily when with his fellow monks in the dining room. Dong hopes to bring people, especially Filipinos, closer to God through the Padre Pio devotion.

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Thank you Marian Raquel (SFAM) for the research and for helping me complete this week’s story. May Kuya’s experience make Filipinos recognize just how favored we are by God and inspire our youth to serve God either as a religious or laity. Thank you Spiritual Father, Padre Pio.