The Diary of Lucia Fiorentino For those familiar with the story of Padre Pio, Lucia Fiorentino is most widely known for a vision she had regarding the coming of Padre Pio to her native village of San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1906, ten years before Padre Pio arrived, Jesus revealed to her an immense tree planted in the atrium of the Capuchin friary up on the mountainside. Then she heard a voice: “This is the symbol of a soul who is now far away but will come here. He will be strong and well-rooted like this tree and will cover the entire world with its umbrage.” At the time, seventeen-year-old Lucia did not understand the meaning; she assumed it referred to a local friar who happened to be out of town at that moment. When Padre Pio arrived in San Giovanni Rotondo on September 4, 1916, she understood. “Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Her Life Lucia was born in San Giovanni Rotondo on June 20, 1889, two years and one month after Francesco Forgione—the future Padre Pio—was born in Pietrelcina. She was the second of five children born to Giuseppe and Emanuela Fiorentino. She had two sisters—Giovanna (the firstborn) and Paolina—and two brothers—Felice and Cristoforo. From a young age, Lucia was a lively girl. She enjoyed going to school and was enthusiastic about learning, although she did not have a particular proclivity for school work. By the fourth grade, she was struggling with her lessons so much that she was forced to withdraw. Her mother then sent her to learn to be a seamstress. However, her life would not be easy. Life was difficult in much of Italy in her milieu, and, like other families, she was not spared from hardship. Her brother Felice, who had entered a minor seminary, died of nephritis in 1902 while still an adolescent. She wrote in her autobiography, “With his illness, suffering entered our house.” Her mother died of cancer three years later. Ten years after that, her other brother, Cristoforo, was killed in World War I, and the following year, her father died. After her younger sister, Paolina, married, Lucia was left alone in the house with her older sister, Giovannina, who acted as head of the household. Lucia suffered from health ailments, beginning in early childhood. At the young age of two, she was struck with a severe ear infection. She wrote, “Then I began to suffer. I had to go to the doctor due to the pain and swelling, but I never recovered.” She nearly died in the summer of 1905. Her condition was so dire that the priests were called to administer the Last Rites. She continued to suffer from various unnamed ailments for the rest of her life. However, in her sufferings, Lucia discovered her unique spiritual path and particular vocation—that of victim soul. That is, she was called to unite her sufferings to those of Christ on the cross for the benefit of others—either souls in Purgatory or in the world. Specifically, Lucia was called to offer her sufferings for priests and consecrated men and women religious. Spirituality From her earliest years, Lucia had a deeply contemplative and religious spirit. She prayed constantly and was deeply drawn to the sacraments, including Reconciliation and the Eucharist. She was repulsed by sins and felt greatly offended when her peers used foul language or spoke “indecent things.” Exhibiting signs of scrupulosity, she suffered terribly at the thought that she had sinned, when, in fact, she had been exposed to temptation. As a child, Lucia considered becoming a nun. However, she doubted which state she was called to since she “was neither so much for the world nor so much for the Lord.” Her confessor suggested she enter the Third Order of St. Francis as a tertiary (today known as the Secular Franciscan Order), whereby she could live Franciscan spirituality in the home. On May 12, 1904, the Feast of the Ascension, Lucia made her profession in the Franciscan Third Order. At the same time, she began receiving Communion daily. Shortly thereafter, she was assailed with spiritual attacks. She wrote that Satan “began to go to war against” her by subjecting her to terrible temptations. Lucia was just fifteen years old, had little education, and did not have proper spiritual guidance to help her confront these spiritual battles. She continued to believe that she was sinning, as she did not understand the difference between feeling and consent. Through prayer and “divine enlightenment,” she was led to certain holy books in which she learned about spiritual direction, temptations, and aridity of spirit. With this, she became more equipped to “repel the enemy.” However, the spiritual battles continued. After she successfully faced her temptations, she was struck with aridity, or dryness of spirit. Finally, after three years, Jesus relieved her spirit, “and without realizing it, he freed me from the terrible ordeal.” When Lucia reached the age of twenty-one, she finally “became serene in spirit.” At that point, she realized two things: she was not called to be a nun (due to her poor health), and she was called to offer her sufferings to God in “resignation” (that is, total trust and abandonment). Though she had peace spiritually, her physical and moral sufferings were constant. She wrote in her autobiography that she had to resign herself “to suffering at home because the Lord allowed it.” Her sufferings were mostly physical and included “pains in the heart, shallow breathing, and shortness of breath.” In 1905, her illness became so severe that she was bedridden. During this period, she began praying and reading the lives of the saints more. It was at this point that she began to discern her particular vocation: offering her sufferings for others. Jesus began to reveal himself more to her in the form of “inspiration.” One day, she heard him ask her what she wanted him to do for her. She responded, “Lord, I want what You want!” Then, all the confusion ceased, and she began to feel joy in suffering. The following year, in 1906, she had the vision of the tree at the Capuchin convent. Lucia had been under the guidance of two spiritual directors—both diocesan priests in San Giovanni Rotondo. The first helped her by way of Confession, though he was inexperienced in discerning the particular spiritual battles with which she was struggling. She later changed to another parish priest, Don Massa. Likely sensing the work the Lord was doing in Lucia’s spiritual life, Don Massa suggested she begin keeping a diary. She began writing in the autumn of 1916. On July 4, 1916, Lucia received the call to offer herself as a victim of reparation. After the feast of the Sacred Heart, the priest gave all the zealots (members of a prayer movement) a beautiful image of the Sacred Heart—everyone, that is, except her. Though she had always felt “treated with indifference and adversity,” she was particularly affected by this slight and worried she might commit a “fault.” Instead, she offered it up. Then she heard Jesus speak to her. “Daughter, do not be disturbed; suffer everything for love of Me; indeed, from this moment on, offer yourself a victim for reparations.” From that day on, Lucia began to suffer with “patience and resignation, doing everything to make reparations for my sins and those of creatures, always uniting myself with the suffering Jesus.” During the illness of her father in 1915, Lucia began to experience greater consolations from the Lord. She wrote that “Jesus gave me many beautiful inspirations, but not every day. I felt a new life within me, entirely spiritual.” She also experienced raptures. In her diary, Lucia revealed many other mystical and even charismatic spiritual experiences and extraordinary graces. She was often the recipient of visions. More frequently, she experienced locutions. She heard Christ’s voice often, as well as others, such as that of her guardian angel, certain saints, and her deceased niece. At one point, her guardian angel told her that she could discern who was speaking in that the voice of Jesus is “more imperious and gentler” than his. Padre Pio Lucia met Padre Pio for the first time in the middle of July 1916. He was twenty-nine years old, while she was twenty-seven. She knew him, as he had been stationed in nearby Foggia (forty kilometers [25 mi] from San Giovanni Rotondo), and his reputation as a holy priest and enlightened spiritual director was well-known. Some of the faithful from San Giovanni Rotondo had been to Foggia to confer with him, though Lucia never had. The Capuchin priests regularly visited Lucia’s father while he was sick. One day, the guardian (superior) of the community, Fr. Paolino da Casacalenda, told the family that he was bringing Padre Pio to San Giovanni Rotondo, and he would bring him to their home. Lucia was overjoyed. After Padre Pio visited her father, he stepped into one of the rooms so that all the members of the family could confer with him. On that occasion, Lucia received his counsel for the first time. After Padre Pio returned to San Giovanni in September and settled definitively in the beginning of October, Lucia had the opportunity and joy to visit him more frequently and talk about her spiritual life. He soon became her spiritual director. Surely, Providence had a hand in bringing Padre Pio to San Giovanni Rotondo and uniting him with Lucia. Lucia had an extraordinarily vibrant spiritual life but lacked proper direction. Padre Pio was an exceptional director. She had finally found her spiritual shade, the guide perfectly suited to her unique spirituality and vocation. He was the perfect umbrage for Lucia Fiorentino to sit beneath and bask in. The two were like kindred spirits. The daughter, who had received the calling of Christ to be a victim soul, united with the Father, who also had the same calling. Padre Pio, too, was a victim soul. In 1910, shortly after ordination to the priesthood, he received the stigmata. The next day, he and the parish priest prayed that they would be removed. They did, though they remained “invisible.” After Padre Pio settled in San Giovanni Rotondo, he experienced the wounding again. On September 20, 1918, as he was praying in the choir after Mass, he received the stigmata. Lucia also experienced similar supernatural phenomena in her body. In her autobiography, she described how a cross appeared on her arm on the exact spot a poor person touched. It remained for a year, around 1915-16. She showed it to Don Massa, who confirmed it. Remarkably, on another occasion, in 1919, Lucia received the invisible stigmata. Padre Pio and Lucia Fiorentino had a deep spiritual love for one another. A cursory read through Lucia’s diary reveals her intense devotion. He was her spiritual father, guide, and teacher. He frequently consoled her, confirmed her, and quelled her doubts. Sometimes, the Father (the way locals spoke of Padre Pio) rebuked her. Padre Pio once asked her how late she stayed up at night to pray. After she said that she sometimes stayed up until 4:00 a.m., Padre Pio said, “You mustn’t do this anymore. The bow that is too tense breaks. You can bring forward the hour of adoration because all hours belong to Jesus.” More than with words, it was his example that struck her. She saw him as an Alter Christus, Another Christ. When she sat with him, she felt she was in the presence of Christ himself. Sadly, Lucia’s newfound direction would be tested and eventually limited. By the middle of 1919, it was already difficult for the first spiritual daughters to confer with Padre Pio because there was so much demand to see him. The guardian intervened, and in July, he began a system of scheduling appointments for Padre Pio’s spiritual daughters from San Giovanni Rotondo. Worse, in 1923, religious authorities began investigating Padre Pio. There were rumors that he had faked the stigmata. Medical examinations were ordered, and studies were conducted. He was also slandered, including by some of his spiritual daughters. Gossip and salacious accusations abounded. Due to the crowds and “hysteria” surrounding his persona, the Capuchin authorities considered relocating him. Finally, in 1931, the Holy Office intervened. He was forbidden from celebrating Mass publicly, hearing confessions, blessing the faithful, or having any contact with his spiritual sons and daughters. Lucia Fiorentino, like the other early spiritual daughters and sons of San Giovanni Rotondo, experienced this dark, painful period personally and directly. The trials of Padre Pio thoroughly inform Lucia’s thoughts and diary. In fact, most of her writings are about Jesus and not Padre Pio. Her spiritual director often appears in the background—almost like a secondary character in a film. The protagonist is God himself. Yet, this is what makes a fine spiritual director. The role of the director is to discern the work God is doing in a soul and to provide counsel, wisdom, and direction. It is not to take the place of God. In an entry written on August 13, 1923, she heard Christ speak to her and tell her: You must love the Father [Padre Pio], but ordered to Me. He is the captain who unites you with Me. You could come straight to Me, but Padre Pio, who draws everything from Me and is attached to My Heart, gives [Me] to you and to others who are aided by him. During this period, Lucia had a specific role in Padre Pio’s tribulations. He told her that “You will obtain grace by way of prayers and sacrifices, but not grace according to your whims, nor simple grace as you imagine; instead, you will obtain a great grace for your Father [Padre Pio]. So pray.” The Diary Lucia Fiorentino’s diary offers invaluable insight into the early life of Padre Pio, as it was written by a native of San Giovanni Rotondo who was there at the time of his arrival in her hometown and throughout all the dramatic events that unfolded in the early years. Her thoughts and descriptions are incomparable in their descriptions of the mystique and profundity of this extraordinary priest and friar. Moreover, given that Lucia had just a third-grade education, her diary is extraordinary, given that so many of her entries are filled with lofty words and sublime thoughts. Indeed, it is rich in spirituality and Christian teaching. It narrates the spiritual life of a soul very much in love with God and painstakingly committed to living the Christian life in the home and family. While many great saints wrote with the intention of converting souls to God, Lucia did not. Instead, she only thought about interceding with God by offering her many sufferings to God. The teachings contained within her visions and locutions can be of benefit to anyone seeking comfort amid their suffering and seeking to grow in their Christian lives. More specifically, Christ told her that some of the messages were addressed not just to her but to everyone who “desires to live the perfect spiritual life.” Epistolary Correspondence Maria Preziosi, Lucia Fiorentino’s niece, wrote in her edition of Lucia’s diary that “Lucia had an intense exchange of letters with Padre Pio.” Unfortunately, all that remains of the “intense exchange of letters” between Padre Pio and Lucia Fiorentino are six letters that were discovered in Lucia’s house. She destroyed all the rest. On August 26, 1923, she wrote in her diary that she “offered a sacrifice to Jesus: I burned many letters of spiritual correspondence [between me and Padre Pio] that I kept with holy affection. Thus, I detached myself and felt freer. God alone is the Master of my heart.” While she did not refer to this external event, she destroyed the letters shortly after Padre Pio was ordered not to have any contact with his spiritual sons and daughters. Thus, the decision can be interpreted in accordance with obedience, in addition to humility and a desire for detachment. All the same, it was an irreparable loss for posterity, as Padre Pio’s letters are rich in spirituality and wisdom. Her Death In a Diary entry written on March 1, 1929, Christ spoke to her. He said: Think only about today, for tomorrow is in My hands. Detach yourself more and more from the world, which you will soon have to leave, and turn your thoughts to the Heavens—to Me, your Creator, your Redeemer, and I will be your Sanctifier. Do not lose yourself in the useless and vain things of the world, which you will soon have to leave without realizing it, and say, ‘I am a pilgrim in this land of exile, and I aspire to the Heavenly and Blessed Homeland.’ Five years after this entry, in February 1934, Lucia became seriously ill. Sensing the end was near, she told her sister-in-law, Filomena Fini: “When you go to Confession, tell the Father that I offered myself as a victim in the cave of St. Michael (the sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel on the Gargano) for his liberation. My life is not worth as much as his; he can do more good for souls than me.” On February 16, at the age of forty-four, Lucia Fiorentino died after a brief, unnamed illness. During that period, Padre Pio was still forbidden from appearing in public, hearing confessions, and celebrating Mass in public. It appears that Lucia’s self-sacrifice was heard by God. Less than three months later, Padre Pio was given back his full freedom to continue his apostolate. Perhaps it was due to her intervention. Conclusion
The life and writings of Lucia Fiorentino are remarkable. Like Jesus and Mary in Nazareth, she lived a hidden life within the home, occupied with domestic chores and family obligations. She placed herself under the obedience of her older sister in worldly matters and went about her business in San Giovanni Rotondo quietly without anyone noticing her. Her spiritual life, under the obedience and direction of Padre Pio, was known only to him. Now, almost a century after her death, the remarkable life and writings of Lucia Fiorentino have come to light. The importance of her work is not so much in its erudition as in its imitation. It contains within its pages the exhortation to live the “perfect spiritual life.” This extraordinary diary—translated for the first time ever in English—reveals an extraordinary soul beautifully devoted to Padre Pio. It can be of immense benefit to all those seeking comfort amid their suffering and striving to grow in the Christian life. "The Diary of Lucia Fiorentino: Mystic, Visionary, and Early Spiritual Daughter of Padre Pio" is available in English for sale. A portion of the proceeds of sales of this book will be donated to the Capuchin Province of Foggia and Padre Pio.
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