Devotees in Cebu send off heart relic; Davao next stop

October 14, 2018: Devotees raise their phone during the blessing of the Heart of Padre Pio at IEC.
(CDN photo/ Lito Tecson)

Despite their disability, the couple made it through to the IC3 Convention Center to bid goodbye to the heart relic of Saint Padre Pio.

Jose Revel and Maria Sheila Sotes, who are both suffering from polio disease since their earlier years, were among the hundreds of pilgrims who attended the 6 a.m. sendoff Mass of the saint on Sunday.

The heart relic of Saint Padre Pio will be off to Davao City for a three day stay in the city — Oct. 14 to 16.

Maria Shiela, who was on her wheelchair, was moved by the spiritual presence brought by relic of the Saint.

“I feel blessed and more than happy. Gaan kaayo ang akong pamati. Ma-feel nimo iyang presence and spirit kon unsa siya ka balaan nga pagka Santo (I feel lighthearted and You can feel his presence and spirit and this show how sacred this saint is),” the 43-year-old Maria Sheila said.

Her husband, Jose, said their only prayer to Saint Padre Pio would be for them to be blessed with a baby.

They have been married for three years.

Reality of heaven
Meanwhile, Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, in his homily, highlighted the uncorrupted heart of Saint Padre Pio as a sign that the reality of heaven could not be explained by experts.

“This uncorrupted heart of Saint Padre Pio is a symbol,a sign for all of us of the reality of heaven that not everything can be explained by natural science. There are things that transcends our human understanding,” Villarojo said.

Padre Pio, a Capuchin priest in Italy, was known for his charity and love for God and neighbors. He died in Sept. 23, 1968.

But when his remains were exhumed in 2008, it was discovered that his body was uncorrupted or intact.

Like Saint Padre Pio, Villarojo said everyone could have the same pure heart if they would allow God to stay in it.

“A heart that is pure is not an empty heart. It is filled with a presence of God. Other than avoiding occasions of sin, a heart that is pure is one that allows the Lord to stay and to dwell in it,” he said.

“That is the kind of heart that God wants each one of us to have,” he added.

For Helen Legaspi, said the visit of the relic of the martyr in Cebu had been very timely especially with the spate of killings that occurred and the killer landslide in Naga City, leaving at least 70 persons dead.

“Nalipay kaayo ko nakakita kay murag maheal pud ta. Ampo gyod ta pagmaayo (I am happy seeing that we are experiencing some sort of healing. So pray harder),”Legaspi said.

The visit of St. Padre Pio’s heart relic coincided with the Italian priest’s 50th death anniversary, as well as the centennial anniversary of the appearance of the stigmata or the wound marks of Jesus on his palms, feet, and side.

A contingent of devotees from the National Shrine of St. Padre Pio in Batangas flew to Italy to fetch and accompany the precious relic to the Philippines.

The relic arrived in Cebu last Oct. 11 for a three-day visit, after its stay in the Archdiocese of Manila from Oct. 8 to 10.

On Sunday, it will visit Davao City and stay there until Oct. 16.

The Philippines is the fourth country visited by the heart relic of St. Padre Pio, after the United States, Paraguay and Argentina.