
The embalmed body of a revered Roman Catholic monk who died nearly 50 years ago has arrived back at the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope in St Peter's Basilica in front of thousands of worshipers.

Padre Pio's body was paraded through the streets in a crystal coffin as it made its way through The Vatican to the famous basilica at the request of Pope Francis as part of events to mark the ongoing Catholic Jubilee Year.

He was accompanied on the trip to St Peter's by another Saint Leopold Mandic (1866-1942), a Croatian Capuchin who was, like Pio, celebrated for his skill in receiving confessions - a quality Francis wants to champion during the Jubilee year.

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Revered: Padre Pio arrived back at The Vatican today nearly 50 years after his death at the personal request of Pope Francis

Mystic: The Italian Friar regularly recounted having experienced both heavenly and diabolic vision when he was a live and was associated with many cases of miraculous recoveries of the sick

Padre Pio (pictured) was exhumed in 2008 and had his face partially reconstructed using a silicone mask. Here he is pictured at San Lorenzo Basilica in Rome, ahead of his journey to the Vatican tomorrow

Faithful: Thousands of worshipers turned out to see his body paraded in a crystal coffin through the streets of The Vatican to St Peter's Basilica

Venerated: Pope Francis has further promoted the veneration of Padre Pio by encouraging the creation of prayer groups dedicated to him when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires

Italian Friar Pio, who had been interred in San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy was said to have suffered from the stigmata phenomenon - body marks corresponding to the wounds Jesus Christ received during his crucifixion, according to biblical accounts.

Cesarina Onesi, 74, was among the thousands of faithful who turned out to accompany the coffins on the final leg of their journey to St Peter's said she had been very moved by the experience.

'I pray to him (Pio) every night, he is one of the four or five saints I pray to. He was a great man, so much faith, so much courage, so much humanity.'

Canonised under Pope John-Paul II, Pio's brand of popular, mystical Catholicism was less popular with the Vatican authorities when he was alive.

He regularly recounted having experienced both heavenly and diabolic visions, other clerics claimed to have witnessed him levitating in ecstasy and he was frequently associated with apparently miraculous recoveries among the seriously ill.

Partially reconstructed with a life-like silicone mask and preserved in a temperature-controlled shrine, the mystic monk Padre Pio has officially begun his journey to St Peter's Basilica.

Although he died in 1968, the popular Capuchin monk was declared a saint in 2002 and exhumed from his grave in 2008 to go on display in his hometown of San Giovanni.

The monk spent most of his life in the small, southeastern Italian town where yesterday his body was moved to San Lorenzo Basilica in Rome. Tomorrow, he will be taken to the Vatican.

Confession: Padre Pio was accompanied by another Saint Leopold Mandic (1866-1942), a Croatian Capuchin who was also celebrated for his skill in receiving confessions

Pio's legend was further enhanced after his death when, in 2008, his body was exhumed from his crypt to be put on display and was allegedly found to be in remarkably good condition

The corpses of Padre Pio and Croatian Saint Leopold Mandic (1866-1942) will be on display until February 11

While Pio was regarded with suspicion by popes John XXIII and Paul VI, he was admired by Polish pope John Paul II, who confessed to the friar when he was a young priest

Padre Pio was canonised under Pope John-Paul II, Pio's brand of popular, mystical Catholicism was less popular with the Vatican authorities when he was alive

The monk, who died in 1968 and was made a saint in 2008, remains one of the Church's most popular figures

Pilgrims gather around the temperature-controlled shrine built to hold the revered 'mystic monk'

Tomorrow his body will be transported back to Rome inside the crystal coffin to be put on display in the Vatican

A group of pilgrims carry Padre Pio's body inside the hall in San Lorenzo Basilica as part of the Church's jubilee celebrations

Padre Pio had been buried in San Giovanni Rotondo, the small, southeastern Italian town where he spent most of his life. Yesterday he was taken to Rome ahead of being displayed in the Vatican

Two faithful touch the glass cabinet holding Padre Pio, who was said to suffer from the stigmata phenomenon

The Church claims he suffered from stigmata during his life - a phenomenon which sees those afflicted to bleed or feel ghost pains mimicking those Jesus suffered when he was crucified.

Pope Francis wanted the body of man who spent most of his life hearing confessions to be displayed.

However, not all the locals in his small town - whose economy revolves around the pilgrim trade - were happy that the saint was going on the road.

'Personally for me it is a sad day,' said Auro Mizza, one of the hundreds of people who turned out to see the coffin off, many of them with tears in their eyes.

'A saint doesn't go on pilgrimage, it is the others who go on pilgrimage to the saint.'

His shrine draws close to a million people yearly.

The body, along with that of another, less famous saint that is being transported to Rome from northern Italy, are being displayed in San Lorenzo Basilica before both are moved in procession to St. Peter's tomorrow. They will return to their regular locations later this month.

Many people said the brown-robed Padre Pio was able to predict events in their lives and knew what they were about to confess. There are thousands of 'Padre Pio Prayer Groups' around the world.

Padre Pio was dogged during his life and even after his death by allegations that he was a fake but Church investigators cleared him each time.

PADRE PIO: THE 'MYSTIC MONK' WHO CLAIMED TO RECEIVE VISIONS FROM GOD Pio of Pietrelcina, known as Padre Pio, was born in 1887 to deeply religious farmers in the small agricultural town of Pietrelcina, in Campania, Italy. By the age of five he knew he wanted to dedicate his life to serving God and claimed to have inner battles with demons and moments of religious out of body experiences. As an adult, he achieved fame for what he considered a spiritual closeness with God and his stigmata - a religious phenomenon that sees sufferers struck with pains mimicking those suffered by Jesus when he was crucified. His condition was reported to have been visible, though the wounds never became infected and healed once but then reappeared. After news of his stigmata spread and pilgrims flocked to witness the phenomenon, he was credited with miracles and was said to be able to perform superhuman feats such as levitation. Many denied the wounds were authentic and he was accused of having purchased carbolic acid from a pharmacist, though the Church always denied the allegations. However, some members of the institution remained skeptical and he was disciplined several times and investigated repeatedly throughout the first half of the century. In later years, he specialised in taking confessions, which many adherents claiming he was able to accurately predict what they were confessing before they had done so. Since his death and burial in 1968 at his church in San Giovanni Rotondo, his popularity has grown and he is considered one of the Church's most popular saints. Canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, the shrine - which has now been temporarily moved to Rome - attracts thousands of pilgrims every year. Advertisement

A group of men carry Padre Pio from a waiting vehicle during his arrival at San Lorenzo Basilica yesterday

During his life, Padre Pio was said to suffer from stigmata, the phenomenon which causes sufferers to feel pains mimicking those Jesus Christ suffered during his crucifixtion

A woman touches the glass coffin containing the body of the popular Italian saint during his display in Rome

Monks open the hearse door to display the coffin after it arrived in Rome yesterday from San Giovanno, in southern Italy

The remains of San Pio, better known as Padre Pio, arrived in Rome yesterday ahead of a series of Jubilee events

Pope Francis asked for his body to be displayed in the Vatican for the celebrations, which are based on the theme of mercy