Francis Houle: A middle-class husband and father from Michigan … and a stigmatic

By Larry Peterson

Our Lord told him, "I am taking away your hands and giving you mine ... touch them."

(Aleteia) A number of saints and holy people have been known to share in the suffering of Christ in a special way: by literally having his wounds in their own flesh. Among this group are such beloved saints as Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena and, closer to our own times, Padre Pio.

Then there is Irving “Francis” Houle, just a regular guy from Michigan...

Francis was 67 years old when, on Good Friday, April 9, 1993, the stigmata first began to show itself. Francis told his brother and a priest, Father Robert Fox (who would go on to write a book about him), how Jesus appeared to him when Lent began on Ash Wednesday. He told them Jesus said to him, “I am taking away your hands and giving you mine … touch them...”

It is estimated that Francis prayed individually over 100,000 people while he was still alive. Folks would wait for hours on end to see the elderly grandpa who bore the stigmata and would lay his hands on them. People would be crying and would touch him and kiss his hands... (continued)

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• Francis Houle: A middle-class husband and father from Michigan … and a stigmatic

The Last Days of Padre Pio

By Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

Padre Pio seemed most hesitant to discuss either his wounds or the reported incidents of bilocation. He seemed hesitant because in life he did not understand them at all. In fact, a Vatican investigator learned that all the events of bilocation were reported by others, and never by Padre Pio himself. It wasn’t until he was directly asked by the investigator that he described bilocation:

“I don’t know how it is or the nature of this phenomenon – and I certainly don’t give it much thought – but it did happen to me to be in the presence of this or that person, to be in this or that place; but I do not know whether I was there with my body or without it . . . Usually it has happened while I was praying . . . This is the first time I talk about this.” (Padre Pio Under Investigation, Ignatius Press, 2008, p. 208).

Those September days preceding Padre Pio’s death in 1968 must have been the strangest of his life. The visible wounds became so central to his sense of self for a half century that I imagine he had difficulty even remembering a time when the wounds were not present. Even a great burden carried for years upon years – I have learned the hard way – can become a part of who and what we are. We cannot imagine Padre Pio without these wounds. We would have never even heard of Padre Pio without these wounds. So in that sense, the wounds were not for him. They were for us... (continued)

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Father Leo Franklin McNamara

"The following is taken from a discourse given by one of the Faithful.

Father McNamara had the stigmata.

The crucifix pictured is the one that bled on several occasions.

For your consideration:

Fr. McNamara slept on a daybed, lived in a loft at St. Adrian’s Church, not in the rectory.

He did not eat meat for 45 years, never had a housekeeper.  Was always faithful to his priestly vows and the true Mass.

Ordained in Rome on July 6, 1913, first Mass on July 7, 1913

In 1928 he was assigned to St. Adrian’s parish in south Chicago.  Established a beautiful church and school.  Remained there until death on October 26, 1973..." (continued)

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