Case file · File · Prove All Things

The Doctors Who Examined Padre Pio

“But prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Douay-Rheims

The case

In 1918, an Italian Capuchin friar got wounds in his hands, his feet and his side. His name was Padre Pio. Word spread fast, and so did the doubts. First came the doctors. Luigi Romanelli, chief doctor at a Barletta hospital, examined him in May 1919.

The evidence

Every quotation below is printed in the words of the edition named under it. Nothing is paraphrased.

“chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta”

Encyclopedia of World Biography (Gale), on Luigi Romanelli — read it at the source

“sceptical of any religious or paranormal origin”

Psi Encyclopedia, Society for Psychical Research, citing Castelli 2011, on Amico Bignami, pathologist of the University of Rome — read it at the source

“might have been kept open artificially through the continuous use of tincture of iodine”

Psi Encyclopedia, Society for Psychical Research, citing Castelli 2011, on Amico Bignami, pathologist of the University of Rome — read it at the source

His hypothesis.

“it has not found any supernatural nature in the facts attributed to Padre Pio”

the Holy Office, 31 May 1923, in the official timeline of the Shrine of St Pio — read it at the source

Not confirmed - not a verdict of fake.

“deprived of all exercises of his priestly duties except Mass, which he may celebrate privately”

the official timeline of the Shrine of St Pio, 23 May 1931 — read it at the source

“But prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (Douay) — read it at the source

What’s established, and what isn’t

What the sources support, claim by claim — each one checked against the sources listed at the foot of this page:

Padre Pio (1887-1968), a Capuchin, received the stigmata on 20 September 1918 (chest wound in August, hands and feet in September)
Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta, was the first doctor to examine him, 15-16 May 1919
Amico Bignami, a University of Rome pathologist and a sceptic, examined him on 26 July 1919 and suggested the wounds were kept open by tincture of iodine
Giorgio Festa, a surgeon, examined him on 9 October 1919 and concluded the wounds could not be explained by natural laws (single devotional source)
On 31 May 1923 the Holy Office decreed it had not found any supernatural nature in the facts attributed to Padre Pio
On 23 May 1931 he was deprived of all priestly duties except a private Mass
He accepted the investigations and restrictions with profound humility (vatican.va)
16 July 1933 he celebrated Mass in the church again; confessions resumed in 1934
He died 23 September 1968; John Paul II canonized him on 16 June 2002
The cause judged heroic virtue (1997) and two miracles (decrees 1998 and 2001, the second the cure of Matteo Pio Colella)

Where the record stops short:

The 1923 decree says the supernatural nature of the facts was not established. That is not a finding that the wounds were faked, and the Church has never ruled on their cause.
Festa's own published conclusion is not in hand: the line that the wounds could not be explained by natural laws rests on a single devotional source, so this file does not quote it.
The dates of Festa's examinations differ by source: the Shrine's own timeline gives 9 October 1919, the Encyclopedia of World Biography gives 1920 and 1925.

For your men’s group

The Church tested him for years before it honoured him. Why is that slowness a mercy rather than an insult?
He was barred from hearing confessions and obeyed. When has obedience cost you something you thought you were owed?
The cause judged his virtue, not his wounds. Which of the two would you rather be known for?

Every source

Found an error? [email protected] — errata corrected the day they’re found.

Drafted with AI assistance, founder-directed, and checked against the sources linked here. Our editorial standards.

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