The Messed Up And Tragic Truth About These Christian Saints

Padre Pio became a saint in 2002, almost 100 years after stigmata first appeared on his hands. He was born in Campania in 1887, and as a novice monk, he began experiencing some weird things. Some called them illnesses, while others, says The Irish Times, looked at it more as religious ecstasy. After being ordained, he returned to Italy.

His stigmata appeared in 1918, and those who knew him claimed he had the gift of healing, prophecy, bi-location, and that they had seen him perform numerous miracles. Unlikely? That's actually what the church said at the time. His local bishop believed he was less about God and more about the financial gain, and he was investigated by the church. At one point, he was banned from saying mass, hearing confession, blessing the faithful, and answering letters. He wasn't allowed to show his stigmata, either, and had to wear gloves. 

Those bans were lifted in the 1930s, and between then and his death in 1968, he had just as many critics as believers. In 2007, a book by historian Sergio Luzzatto claimed to have evidence that he faked his stigmata by using carbolic acid to burn his feet, hands, and sides. According to The Independent, Vatican documents suggest that their own doctors had come to the conclusion the wounds were self-inflicted, but they also seemed not to heal when they were sealed and taped. So was the man a saint or fraud?

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