St. Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968), the Capuchin friar known everywhere as Padre Pio, spent his life in prayer, in the confessional and in suffering offered for souls. He bore the wounds of Christ for fifty years, and people came from all over the world to ask for his prayers. Every day he prayed for them with a short, powerful novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Below is how to pray that novena, prayers to St. Padre Pio for healing and in need, his best-known sayings, and his story.
The novena Padre Pio prayed every day
Whenever someone asked Padre Pio to pray for them, he included them in the “Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” which he prayed daily. It rests on three promises of Jesus. Here is its traditional form in our own words, with the promises in the Douay-Rheims Bible:
1. Jesus said:
Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.
O my Jesus, trusting in your word, I knock, I seek and I ask for this grace: (name your intention).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
2. Jesus said:
And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you.
O my Jesus, in your name I ask the Father for this grace: (name your intention).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
3. Jesus said:
Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.
O my Jesus, trusting in your words that will never pass away, I ask for this grace: (name your intention).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
To end, pray to the Sacred Heart, who cannot help having compassion on those who suffer, to have mercy on us and grant our request through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Then pray the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.
Pray it for nine days, or every day as Padre Pio did. See also our nine-day Sacred Heart novena.
A prayer to St. Padre Pio
Written for this page:
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you loved Jesus crucified
and bore his wounds in your body for the salvation of souls.
You never refused to pray for anyone who asked.
Pray now for me and for my intention: (name it).
Obtain for me a sincere sorrow for my sins,
a deep love for the Mass and a trusting heart.
Pray, hope and don’t worry: help me to live these words. Amen.
A prayer to Padre Pio for healing
St. Padre Pio, you founded a great hospital,
the “Home for the Relief of Suffering,” for the sick and the poor.
Look with love on (name), who is sick.
Pray that God will heal him (her) if it is his will,
and give strength and peace in suffering. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See also Catholic prayer for healing.
A prayer for a good confession
Padre Pio heard confessions for many hours every day.
St. Pio, you spent your life in the confessional, bringing sinners back to God.
Help me to see my sins clearly, to confess them honestly
and to trust completely in God’s mercy. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See how to go to confession.
Sayings of Padre Pio
- “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
- “Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key that opens God’s heart.” (attributed)
- He asked those who came to him to pray the Rosary daily, calling it his “weapon.”
The life of St. Padre Pio
Francesco Forgione was born on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming village in southern Italy. He entered the Capuchin friars at fifteen, taking the name Pio, and was ordained a priest in 1910. From 1916 until his death he lived at the friary of San Giovanni Rotondo, on the Gargano peninsula.
On September 20, 1918, while praying before a crucifix, he received the stigmata, the wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side, which he bore until shortly before his death. He became famous for long hours in the confessional, for the devotion of his Mass and for gifts such as reading hearts. He also endured years of investigation and restrictions from Church authorities, which he accepted in obedience. In 1956 he opened the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering), one of the finest hospitals in southern Italy, and he founded the Padre Pio Prayer Groups, which today meet in parishes around the world.
He died on September 23, 1968. St. John Paul II, who as a young priest had gone to confession to him, beatified him in 1999 and canonized him on June 16, 2002. His feast is September 23.
Frequently asked questions
What prayer did Padre Pio say every day?
The Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, above, for all who asked his prayers, together with many Rosaries and his Mass.
What is Padre Pio the patron saint of?
He is invoked for healing, for the sick and suffering, for a good confession and for those under stress. In Italy he is the patron of civil defense volunteers.
When is the feast of St. Padre Pio?
September 23, the day of his death.
More prayers
- Sacred Heart novena
- Litany of the Sacred Heart
- Catholic prayer for anxiety
- Patron saints of healing
- Rosary prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Matthew 7:7; John 16:23; Matthew 24:35, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- Life: Dicastery for the Causes of Saints; homily of St. John Paul II at the canonization of Padre Pio, June 16, 2002.
- The novena is given in its traditional structure in our own words; the other prayers were written for this page.