The church did not always embrace Padre Pio. Both his superiors and the Vatican initiated more than a dozen investigations against him, and Pope John XXIII wrote of Padre Pio’s “immense deception.” But his successor, Paul VI, lifted the restrictions on Pio’s ministry.

Francis being Francis, he went off-script in Pietrelcina, addressing the “internal migration of young people,” a problem endemic to Italy’s less affluent regions, where work is scarce and many are forced to emigrate north — within Italy or to other European countries.

The pope called on locals to pray that young people find work, “among you, among the family and are not forced to leave to look for another way, while the country” spiraled into a decline.

But his mission in coming south was to honor Padre Pio, whose global following has grown significantly since his death in 1968. The mosaics that envelop the walls on the lower part of the saint’s shrine were paid for by a Philippine foundation dedicated to him.

The floor of the crypt where Padre Pio’s body is on view is littered with slips of papers, closed envelopes, photo-booth portraits and even money, mostly small bills. The faithful and other visitors slip similar mementos under the door of the cell where he spent the last years of his life in San Giovanni Rotondo, or into the confessional of the old church where he is said to have heard millions of confessions.