By Philip Pullella
SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy (Reuters) - The exhumed body ofPadre Pio, a saint considered a miracle worker by his devotees,attracted thousands of pilgrims on Thursday when it went ondisplay 40 years after his death.
Padre Pio is one of the Catholic Church's most popularsaints and during his lifetime the Italian monk was said tohave had the stigmata, the bleeding wounds of Jesus'crucifixion on his hands and feet.
The economy of this southern town revolves around the cultof Padre Pio and heaving crowds waited to see his body,displayed in a crystal, marble and silver sepulchre in thecrypt of the monastery where he spent most of his life.
His face was reconstructed with a lifelike silicone mask ofthe type used in wax museums because it was apparently toodecomposed to show when the body was exhumed.
"He seems like he is sleeping. Even if they had to re-dothe face, its better remembering him this way than looking at aslab of cold marble," said Domenico Masone, deputy mayor ofPietralcina, the town where Padre Pio was born.
Some 15,000 devotees attended a Mass said by Cardinal JoseSaraiva Martins, head of the Vatican department that overseesthe Catholic Church's saint-making process, before the bodywent on display in the afternoon.
"He knows what I want from him," said Antonio Zimbaldi, 19,who attended Mass with his face, except for his lips, coveredwith white gauze.
"I have been devoted to him for as long as I can remember."Zimbaldi's entire body was burned in a fire caused by a gasexplosion two years ago.
The body of the bearded Capuchin monk was exhumed from acrypt on March 3 and found to be in "fair condition" after 40years. Since then a team of medical examiners and biochemistshas worked to preserve and reconstruct the corpse.
In the sepulchre, he was dressed in a brown Capuchin habitand wore fingerless gloves he used to absorb blood from woundson his hands. The mask was made by a London company which makeslifelike sculpted figures for museums.
ASKING FOR A MIRACLE
A poll in 2006 by Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristianafound that more Italian Catholics prayed to Padre Pio than toany other figure, including the Virgin Mary or Jesus. Hispicture is stuck to the dashboards of many taxis and carsthroughout Italy.
Eighty-year-old Assunta Antico attended the Mass sitting ina wheelchair and was covered with a shawl in the same deepbrown that Padre Pio wore. "I had a stroke two years ago. I'mparalysed and I want to walk again".
This town is home to a large hospital founded by the monkand many hotels and restaurants cater to the pilgrim trade.
As of Friday, the first of 750,000 people who have madereservations to see the body between now and December will filepast the glass coffin at a rate of about 7,200 a day.
There are about 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" in theworld, with a membership of 3 million. Pope John Paul made hima saint in 2002 before one of the biggest Vatican crowds.
Among the stories that surround the monk, who died at theage of 81, is one that he wrestled with the devil one night inhis monastery cell and emerged bloodied and bruised.
However, he was dogged by accusations of fraud. A book lastyear suggested he was a self-harming man who might have usedcarbolic acid to cause his wounds. Church officials have deniedhe was a fake.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
