Images of Padre Pio-sometimes multiple images-are to be found in many taxicabs and buses in Rome, and often as stickers on the back of cars. In his lifetime, he oversaw the foundation of a major hospital, and his cult completely transformed the area around the convent where he lived, making it a major pilgrimage site. He has been cited as a modern-day suffering Christ figure, a miracle worker extraordinaire and a man with paranormal capacities like prescience and bilocation. A controversial and charismatic figure in his lifetime, this peasant-born ascetic had manifestations of the stigmata for decades, and was widely sought as a confessor and intercessor. In Italy, though, both figures seem to have been eclipsed by the cult of a 20th-century Capuchin Franciscan, Padre Pio (1887-1968). Anthony of Padua, a later follower of Francis, is especially popular in many parts of the world. Francis, founder of the Franciscans, is probably the most popular saint in much of the Euro-American world. In other parts of the world, two Italian saints could readily qualify as the people’s favorite.
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