While the film directed by Abel Ferrera on the life of Padre Pio was released on September 9 in the United States, and pending its release in France, other films on the life of the saint exist for those who would like to know the life better. of this 20th century mystic.
While waiting for the release in France of the new film on Padre Pio, whose main role is played by Shia LaBeouf – who would have converted after having played the Capuchin -, other cinematographic works exist and make it possible to discover the exceptional life of this saint who would have had visions and stigmata, while showing extreme devotion to the needy and performing countless miracles.
There would be more than 200 works on Saint Padre Pio in the world, a production which got carried away in 2002, year of the canonization of the Italian Capuchin. While not all of them are translated or accessible in France, some are available on DVD and VOD, such as Carlo Carlei’s film entitled Father Pioreleased in 2015 and the documentary by José Maria Zavala, the Padre Pio mysteryor even documentaries offered on YouTube.
Padre Pio by Carlos Carlei
Audience Award 2001 at the Italian Film Festival in Los Angeles, the film retraces the life of one of the greatest saints of the 20th century. On the night of September 22, 1968, an apostolic visitor knocked on the door of the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy. He wants to have a last interview with Padre Pio. Convinced of the trickery of the miracles attributed to the old stigmatized monk, he hopes to obtain from the dying Capuchin a final confession which would reveal the truth in broad daylight. Padre Pio, played here by Sergio Castellitto, agrees to tell him about his life. The images are superb and the reconstruction of rural Italy at the time convincing.
“The Mystery of Padre Pio” by José Maria Zavala
“The Mystery of Padre Pio” is a documentary that constitutes a cinematic incursion by Spanish journalist José Maria Zavala. Throughout these 80 minutes, the documentary conducts a real investigation around the facts that made the Capuchin friar known: the stigmata, the cruel persecutions of the devil and his beatification process by the Vatican. It is discovered that Padre Pio has been bugged in the confessional and accused of having sex with his spiritual daughters. He suffered fierce persecution from some churchmen. Thus the documentary offers, like a thriller, testimonies and documents never before disclosed, on the plot against this great mystic who bore the stigmata of Christ for 50 consecutive years.
“Padre Pio: The crucified without cross”, documentary by Massimo My
Italian film by Massimo My, this documentary available on YouTube, retraces, thanks to unpublished images, the moving itinerary and testimonies, in the footsteps of this extraordinary priest, adored by some, in the face of contradiction for d others, but has always been a subject of astonishment and revered throughout the world.
“Night of the Prophet” by Jean-Marie Benjamin
Released in 2015, this film directed by Jean-Marie Benjamin traces the life and work of Padre Pio. In October 1946, a Roman journalist, Hector Rossi (played by Rodolfo Corsato), travels to San Giovanni Rotondo (southern Italy) to investigate Padre Pio. His research makes us relive the childhood of Francesco Forgione, his name in the civil status, then his vocation, the manifestation of his stigmata and makes us witness, in the little church, his surprising ministry. The journalist’s interviews with Father Augustin, superior of the convent, and other privileged witnesses, introduce us to the mystical and supernatural world of miracles and visions of Padre Pio, played by Sergio Fiorentini. Film available on DVD.
“Padre Pio, Il Santo! by Marie Viloin
In this movie released in 2015 and produced by Marie Viloin for the Day of the Lord, we find archival documents such as decisions of religious superiors at the time, results of canonical investigations carried out by the Holy Office, testimonies during his beatification trials and in canonization. Without trying to take sides, this film wants to understand the immense devotion aroused by Padre Pio. He also seeks to decipher the sometimes opposing opinion of the popes of the 20th century. It reveals the spiritual thickness of a humble man who, in faith, knew how to resist suspicious contempt as well as excessive adoration.
Also discover Padre Pio’s advice to those who suffer:
