TYRONE–St. Matthew Church will be home to a relic of St. Pio of Pietrelcina as the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Fayette parish enter into a formal partnership with the Saint Pio Foundation.

The non-profit foundation, based in New York, works to promote knowledge of and devotion to St. Pio, who is widely known as Padre Pio. St. Matthew will receive the first-class relic, a piece of cloth stained with the blood of the saint, on Thursday, Feb. 19. Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III and the church’s pastor, Father Valery Akoh, will celebrate Mass for the Presentation of the Chapel of St. Pio beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The foundation has partnered with the Diocese of Fort Worth, the Archdiocese of Detroit and now the Archdiocese of Atlanta in establishing these Chapels of Saint Pio. The foundation’s director Luciano Lamonarca said it’s his dream to expand into other dioceses across the country.

Father Akoh learned of the availability of the relic through Father Gerardo Ceballos Gonzalez, director of divine worship for the archdiocese. Father Akoh said the saint has been a “grandfather” in his own spiritual life, and he began to pray about the responsibilities of receiving the relic and the process involved.

“I looked at it from the parish context,” said Father Akoh.

St. Matthew was one of Atlanta’s pilgrim churches for the Jubilee Year of Hope, and the pastor believed that placing the relic there would be an extension of the Jubilee’s theme.

“Padre Pio’s message is all about hope,” said Father Akoh.

St. Pio was born in 1887 in Pietrelcina in southern Italy. He entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of 15. Of fragile health but a strong will, he completed studies and was ordained a priest in 1910.

On Sept. 20, 1918, the five wounds of the Lord’s passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Catholic Church. Countless persons were attracted to his confessional, and many received his counsel and spiritual guidance through correspondence.

The saint’s life was marked by long hours of prayer and continual austerity. His letters to his spiritual directors reveal the suffering, physical and spiritual, which accompanied him all through his life. They also reveal his deep union with God, and his burning love for the Eucharist and Mary.

“His life was so controversial,” said Father Akoh of the scrutiny that came with Padre Pio’s stigmata. Yet “he remained faithful, obedient and humble.”

During the process of entering the agreement, Father Akoh has learned of the hidden devotions of others to the saint, confirming this path of pursuing the relic. One early morning, he found Hispanic parishioners praying in the chapel, and because of the unusual hour, he inquired their reason for being there. They shared they had walked several hours to be there to “pray for the souls in purgatory,” inspired by Padre Pio.

Father Akoh said that a Holy Hour (rosary and Benediction) will precede the Thursday evening Mass. The Holy Hour begins at 6 p.m. and will be for the immigration situation in the United States. Following Mass, the St. Pio relic will be placed in the LaSalette Chapel of the parish. Veneration of the relic begins at 8:30 p.m. The parish is located at 215 Kirkley Rd in Tyrone.

Helping those in need is at the core of the Saint Pio Foundation. In the example of the saint, the foundation sponsors charitable projects in support of the less fortunate, including “Panis Angelicus” that provides nutritious food products to struggling American households and “Pizza for a Smile” that delivers thousands of pizzas directly into the hands of needy recipients in the United States with words of encouragement.