St. Padre Pio Devotional: 30 Days with Padre Pio

The feast of St. Padre Pio is on September 23rd. He is a great saint to learn from and to intercede for us. He was a Capuchin friar, bore the stigmata, and could even bilocate among many other miracles. He also composed a prayer to be said after Mass called “Stay With Me, Lord.” This is the theme of Susan Bartoli’s devotional, Stay with Me, Lord: 30 Days with Padre Pio.

Stay with Me, Lord

with Susan De Bartoli

Published by Ave Maria Press

A Great Intro to the Life of St. Padre Pio

The book begins with a timeline of St. Padre Pio’s life from birth to canonization by Pope St. John Paul II followed by a brief biography. This would be great for anyone who would like to learn the basics about St. Padre Pio’s life. I also loved the inclusion of St. Padre Pio’s prayer for after Mass, “Stay with Me, Lord.” You will pray variations of this prayer at the end of each day.

A 30 Day Devotional

Next, you will find instructions from the publisher about how to use this book. This book is part of a series entitled “Great Spiritual Teachers.” Each day consists of 3 parts:

1. My Day Begins
2. All Through the Day
3. My Day is Ending

These 3 sections provide just enough structure while still being flexible.

The real treasures of this book are in the “My Day Begins” section. They are various letters written by St. Padre Pio. They are short, but packed with tons of wisdom to ponder and absorb. They deal with topics, mostly related to suffering and spiritual warfare. They show that Padre Pio struggled with these issues just like all of us.

How Catechists Can Use This Book

This book can be useful for catechists in a few ways:

1. As a personal devotion during daily prayer time or in Adoration
2. To teach your students about St. Padre Pio. Simply read and discuss the timeline and bio in the intro. Get the discussion going on his feast day on September 23rd.
3. Consider making St. Padre Pio a patron of your classroom or school year, and do the devotional each class with your students (pre-read the letters for appropriateness for younger students)

You can find Stay with Me, Lord: 30 Days with Padre Pio at Ave Maria Press.

You may also enjoy this special interview with the author on CatholicMom.com.