Gennaro Preziuso

The Life of Padre Pio is a good account of the life of the man who was born Francesco Forgione and eventually joined the Capuchin Order to become Father Pio of Pietrelcina. A mystic who demonstrated such powers as bilocation, foresight, and, most famously, the stigmata, Father Pio struggled with poor health his entire life, but still managed to become one of the most famous and revered religious figures in Italy.

Although definitely sympathetic to St. Pio, the author mostly manages to tread the fine line between history and hagiography. I read it shortly after I finished William Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain and was struck at just how much Father Pio would have fit in with monks and culture of Eastern Christianity. Which just reminds us that Italy's culture is in many ways more Mediterranean than Western. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this modern saint.… (mere)