Public Invited to Venerate Relics of St. Pio in East Haven 

Story by Joe Pisani

For five years, Richard Ruyack Jr., a retired police lieutenant from Yonkers, has taken the relics of St. Padre Pio all over the world for thousands to venerate. 

This year, he has already been to Montreal and Ireland, and on July 26, the first-and-second class relics of St. Padre Pio will be at St. Vincent de Paul Church in East Haven for a day of veneration and Mass.

Ruyack, supervisor of tours for the St. Pio Foundation of Tuckahoe, N.Y., says the relics he will bring for veneration are crusts of St. Pio’s wounds, a handkerchief used during Mass to wipe his tears, a lock of hair, a piece of his mantle and his white glove.

Over the years, he has witnessed healings, favors and “moral miracles” through the saint’s intercession.

“I remember a disabled young girl, who came up with her mother, and she felt there had been a healing,” he recalls. “Another woman said she saw Padre Pio’s face behind the altar.”

Father Thomas J. Walsh, pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish which includes St. Vincent de Paul Church, says, “Padre Pio was one of those recognized as saintly by the people before the official canonization process, and once he was canonized, he became very popular. 

He reminds people of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of his religious order. Both were stigmatics and mystics, and Padre Pio had a great intimacy with our Lord in prayer and was recognized for his miraculous attributes, including being able to read people’s souls when they went to confession.”

Considered one of the Church’s notable saints, St. Pio was born May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina in Southern Italy, and at age 15 he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin friars. Despite his weak health, St. Pio studied hard and in 1910 was ordained a priest. 

From 1916 until his death in 1968, he lived in the Capuchin monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo. Countless faithful went to him for confession and to receive spiritual guidance.

St. Pio’s life was characterized by suffering, both physical and spiritual, and on Sept. 20, 1918, the five wounds of Christ’s Passion appeared on his body. 

He was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II on Dec. 18, 1997, and canonized on June 16, 2002, when the pope proclaimed him “St. Pio of Pietrelcina” to 500,000 people who attended the ceremony.

Sally Mucka, director of Adult Faith Formation for St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish, who organized the event with Jennie Llanos, hopes the relics will help people get in touch with the Holy Spirit. 

“I am really excited,” she says. “I still remember the first time St. Pio’s glove came to the church. It was so moving and touching that I was filled with the Spirit. Today, the Holy Spirit is moving in a special way. People are searching, especially young people and I believe this will bring them in so they can decide how to connect with God.”

Father Walsh says he is optimistic that “Padre Pio can call people again to an appreciation of the mysteries of our faith.”

(The relics of St. Padre Pio will be on display at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 80 Taylor Ave., East Haven, on July 26. Veneration will take place from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with Mass in honor of St. Pio at 5:30 p.m. By touching an item, such as a rosary or a medal, to a first- or second-class relic, it becomes a third-class relic, which can be venerated and used for personal devotion. For additional information, contact the parish office, 203.469.0764 ext. 8 or email saintpio.rcia@gmail.com.)