Santuario Padre Pio

A large modern structure where the remains of Padre Pio rest The Church of San Pio da Pietrelcina is the quintessential reference point for devotees of Padre Pio, beatified by John Paul II in 1999 and proclaimed a saint by the same pontiff three years later. The large church, designed by architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2004, stands in San Giovanni Rotondo, where the Capuchin friar died after residing there for many years. The imposing building was commissioned by the same Capuchin Friars Minor to whom Padre Pio belonged. Its purpose was to house the saint's relics and easily accommodate the thousands of faithful who choose to visit San Giovanni Rotondo as a pilgrimage destination, offering them an almost mystical experience. The Church of San Pio is a large modern structure, surrounded by a huge churchyard and composed of an upper church, dedicated to liturgical celebrations, a smaller lower church, and a crypt, which houses the saint's remains.

Convento Santa Maria delle Grazie

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with its convent, is known as the place where Padre Pio of Pietrelcina lived and died from July 28, 1916. The construction of the first church dates back to the 15th century; due to the increase in visitors, work on a new church began in 1956. The old church is rectangular with a simple façade; inside, it has a single nave in Baroque style with four chapels dedicated to saints. The high altar features a wooden fresco of the Madonna and Child, flanked by Saint John the Baptist and the Evangelist. The old church of Santa Maria delle Grazie houses the urn containing the remains of the martyr Saint Maximiana, beneath a minor altar. The convent includes Padre Pio's cell, open to visitors, and the crypt where his body was kept before being transferred to the nearby sanctuary, designed by Renzo Piano. A tour inside the convent allows you to visit places significant to Padre Pio, such as the cell and the choir of the ancient church.