Piana Romana di Pietrelcina, 4 May 2024. On newsstands from this morning until next Friday. the famous national weekly Di Più, in the weekly column dedicated to “our Padre Pio”, publishes a scoop on page. 41 and 43 of n°18/2024 signed by Elettra Solero and photographic by Giuseppe Saldotto da Foggia, telling the story of the oldest spiritual son still alive linked to the most popular Saint in the world and of all time. This is Alberto Orlando, born on 29 September 1920, Pietrelcinese DOC, always delegated to welcome Padre Pio’s pilgrims in Piana Romana just in front of a few meters where Padre Pio lived in the family farm. The Forgione, Scocca and Orlando families lived in this place.
Today only the family of Alberto Orlando remains, who turned 103 last September, becoming the oldest citizen of Pietrelcina, but also the spiritual son, who knew the Saint in person, today he is the oldest in the world. When the pilgrims ask him about Padre Pio he begins to speak, gets emotional and cries remembering the times when the Saint was alive and brought him cheese. Alberto Orlando tells the faithful who arrive on site: “the Masseria dei Forgione was sold by my father to Padre Pio’s parents, who resold it to my father on 2 February 1922.
That act is sealed in the Vatican in Rome. This is what Padre Pio foresaw many years before, and in fact when my family asked Padre Pio if he could buy his farm, Padre Pio replied: “Yes, but it comes back to me anyway…”. In fact, the Masseria was then donated by my family to the Capuchin Friars and today it is a destination for pilgrimages. A chapel was built to protect the elm of the invisible stigmata and the whole story of Padre Pio.”
by Monica Sales
In the picture: from the left Alberto Orlando poses for a souvenir photo with his lifelong friend the journalist Giuseppe Saldotto who is also vice president of the Pro Padre Pio l’Uomo della Sofferenza Association of Turin.
