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"... Angels came and ministered to him." (Mt 4:11)

It would appear from the writings of Padre Pio, and from the stories of those who were lucky enough to have met and spoken to him, that the Angels are not creatures who stand idly by our sides: on the contrary, from the evidence available, it appears that they are prepared to travel any distance to obey the simplest of our commands. And, in between orders from their individual charges, they guide, protect and enlighten when the need arises. This chapter is really a conglomeration of incidents related to me by various people or gathered together from various sources:

"I was praying to my Guardian Angel", writes Padre Lino Barbato, "and I sent him to Padre Pio asking him to intercede to the Lord to obtain a favour for a lady who was very ill but things did not change at all for her. When I met Padre Pio I said: 'Padre, I prayed to my Guardian Angel to help this lady; is it possible that he did not do his job?' He replied: 'What do you believe, that he is disobedient like you and me?' "

The following story was related by Father Eusebio, who was very close to
Padre Pio: Apparently, he was travelling to London by plane, against Padre Pio's advice, as he did not want him to use that mode of transport. Whilst the plane was crossing "La Manica", a violent storm put it in danger. In the general terror, Fr. Eusebio recited an act of contrition and, not knowing what else to do, he sent his Guardian Angel to Padre Pio asking to be released from danger.

On his return to San Giovanni, Fr. Eusebio went to Padre Pio who greeted him warmly saying: "Young man, how are you? Did everything go well?" "Padre", replied Fr. Eusebio, "I feared for my life." "Then why didn't you obey?", said Padre Pio.

 Immediately, Father Eusebio told him that he had sent his Guardian Angel to which the Padre replied smilingly: "Just as well he arrived on time!"

Father Eusebio also spent some time in Ireland where there is immense devotion to Padre Pio, and whilst there, many people came to ask his prayers so he always wrote to the friars in San Giovanni Rotondo asking them to convey the many requests to Padre Pio. After a while, he became a little afraid of making a nuisance of himself, so he decided to send his Guardian Angel to talk with Padre Pio's. "Only God knows", he said, "how many times I used this means which, all in all, seemed to go very well."

When he returned to San Giovanni, he went to say hello to Padre Pio and asked him: "Padre, did they do their work, my Angel and yours, did mine come when I sent him?" He replied quickly: "If he had to come every time you sent him, he was not left idle!"

Writing for his book "Padre Pio da Pietrelcina", Alessandro da Ripabottoni says: "One morning, I was a little late and, afraid that I would not be in time for Padre Pio's Mass, I said: 'My Guardian Angel, go to Padre Pio and tell him to wait a little before celebrating; as a sign that you will do me this favour, lift off his skull-cap!' I hurried to the Friary and, arriving at the church, I saw Padre Pio in front of the altar steps, ready to begin the Mass. I attended the Mass, after which I went into the Sacristy and saw that Padre Pio was opening the cupboards in search of
something. I said to him: 'Padre, what are you looking for?' He replied: 'My son, I can't find my skull-cap anymore! I remembered then what I had said to my Guardian Angel so I told Padre Pio. He looked at me in a manner which said, 'Now you believe it?' He started to look for the skull-cap again and finally, he found it in his hood."

Most of us, at one time or another during our lives, have shed tears, perhaps because of the death of a loved one or a hurt inflicted upon us by someone whom we considered a friend or simply because of the sheer desire to relieve ourselves of something that had built up in us over a period of time. Quite often, we look on our tears as being utterly useless, perhaps telling ourselves to "buck up and do something to rectify the situation". Tears, however, are not such useless things as we discover from Padre Pio's own words on the subject, when he said to someone who had been crying a lot: "Your tears were collected by the Angels and were placed in a gold chalice and you will find them when you present yourself before God." The following story was related to me by a friend from the U.S.A.: "My mother died in 1947 and I was feeling very depressed. A few months later, after retiring one evening, I recalled a story that I had read or heard; that if you wished to receive help from Padre Pio you should pray to your Guardian Angel to contact Padre Pio's to obtain the favour from him. With not a little scepticism, I said the prayer. It was, I believe, that night that I awakened to see, in my dark room, an elderly man with a beard standing at my bedside looking down at me. His face was beautiful, the expression so kind and peaceful that I had no fear. How long the vision lasted, I don't remember; it could have been a second or minutes, but it was so vivid that I got up from my bed, put the light on and looked around the room. It appeared that the figure was that of Padre Pio, but I will leave that for you to judge." Perhaps Padre Pio came in answer to her Guardian Angel's request for help. "Father, permit me to tell you a little story", wrote a friend of mine. "Two or three months ago, a young woman at our place of work sent one of the scapulars (which you blessed for me with Padre Pio's glove) to her brother who was to undergo serious surgery; they were much afraid of cancer. This man did not know of Padre Pio at that time, but he did wear the scapular. The operation was a success; no cancer, thank God, and he is already back at work. His hours are long and he works until very late at night.

"One night, he was on his way home and, at about 11 P.M., his car broke down; he was many miles away from home on a dark road. He tried to hitch-hike for a couple of hours but nobody stopped for him; I imagine he must have been very concerned. He began to pray to Padre Pio and became so immersed in prayer that he did not notice a truck pull up in front of him. The driver got out, asked what was wrong and took a look at his car; it was beyond repair. Even though they were travelling in opposite directions, and the man lived many miles away, the truck driver insisted that he would take him home right to his front door and refused to be paid!

"This story put me in mind of Padre Pio sending his Angel to someone in need. Could it have been that way? God bless Padre Pio for the wonders he still continues to perform."

"Dear Father Alessio", wrote Nick Cocucci, U.S.A. "We have just recovered
from a massive snow storm here. This week, I slipped on the ice and I fell twice. Today, I thought I was going to break my back but I came away with only a cut left elbow; truly my Guardian Angel must have been with me. When I receive Holy Communion this coming Sunday, I am going to receive it for my Guardian Angel".

And another letter: "Father, my little daughter was born perfect but at five weeks old, she caught a cold. I took her to the doctor and he gave her some medicines and in a few days she was almost better again. Then she caught pneumonia and had to be taken into hospital. She then started to lose body fluid and the doctor told my husband and I that there was no hope of her living as she was not responding to treatment. I stood beside the incubator in which she had been placed; she was being fed through her head and her tongue was all swollen.
"I wanted to hold her but I could not touch her through the glass. My husband's grandmother was there and I said to her that I thought my baby would die. She said: 'Ask Padre Pio to make her better; send him your Guardian Angel.' I put my arms around the incubator and I said: 'I send my Guardian Angel to you, Padre Pio, to make my baby live', and at that moment she shivered as if something had touched her.

"The next morning, I rang the hospital and there was no change in her condition.
All that day, I kept saying these words. to Padre Pio: 'I send my Guardian Angel to you to make my baby live.' At six o'clock that evening, I rang the hospital again and the doctor told me that she had improved a little, I knew then that Padre Pio had accepted my Guardian Angel and had heard my prayers. My little daughter came  home from hospital four weeks later, fully recovered."

Devotion to Padre Pio in Ireland is particulary strong and consequently, many graces are received through Padre Pio's intercession; perhaps with the Angels' help sometimes. The following incident occurred in the village of Lusk, County, Dublin, and was related to me by Miss Joan Thornton who is presently working for Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo.

And old lady was making her way to Mass, as she did every day of her life.
However, this morning was particulary dark, so she was wondering how she would cross the bridge which lead to the church. Instinctively she said: "Oh Lord, light my way". Suddenly, the whole place was lit up, so much so, that her pathway across the bridge became completely visible! She then found no difficulty whatsoever in making her way over it. No sooner had she reached the other side of the bridge when the bright light disappeared. Could this have been her Guardian Angel? After all, remember the prayer: " . . .  to light and guard, to rule and guide."

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