The Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (sometimes referred to as Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

San Giovanni Rotondo San Giovanni Rotondo is the name of a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia and region of Apulia, in southern Italy. San Giovanni Rotondo was the home of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina from 28 July 1916 until his death on 23 September 1968. T ...

Province of Foggia The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, owned by the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

. Its surface area is 6,000 square meters. Built in devotion to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, it can accommodate 6,500 people seated at

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

, with standing room for 30,000 people outside. The

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (20 ...

designed A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

the church. It is located in front of

Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (English: ''"Home for Relief of Suffering"'') is a private scientific research hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, founded by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, and administered by Vatican City. Inaugurated on 5 May 19 ...

(''Home for Relief of the Suffering''), a large Italian hospital and research center, founded by Padre Pio.

References

* Amelar, S. (2004–11). Against the profane, the commercial, and the mundane, Renzo Piano strives to create a spiritual pilgrimage site at the Church of Padre Pio. In ''Architectural Record, 195'', 184 – 192. *Jonathan Glancey
"In the name of the padre: Renzo Piano, co-creator of the Pompidou Centre, has pulled off another masterpiece"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 30 September 2002.

External links

Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
– Official Website Churches in the province of Foggia 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renzo Piano buildings San Giovanni Rotondo {{Italy-RC-church-stub

See also

References

External links