Francesco Forgione was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the Southern Italy. His parents made a living as peasant farmers. His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters: Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia. In 1897, Francesco was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations in the countryside. However, due to insufficient funds and education he had to put off his dream of becoming a monk for six more years. At the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone, where he took the Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Brother) Pio. Padre Pio was ordained to the priesthood in 1910. Eight years later the five wounds Christ's passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Catholic Church. Other spiritual gifts of Padre Pio included perfume, bilocation, prophecy, conversion, reading of souls, and miraculous cures. Countless numbers of people were drawn to him by his humble demeanor and many more received his saintly counsel and spiritual guidance through correspondence. His whole life was marked by long hours of prayer and continual austerity. His letters to his spiritual directors reveal the great suffering, physical and spiritual, which accompanied him all through his life. Worn out by over half a century of intense suffering, poor health and constant apostolic activity, Padre Pio died on September 23, 1968 at the age of 81.