This year, the Church celebrates 20 years since Pope Saint John Paul II declared Padre Pio a Saint. To celebrate this remarkable occasion, the Saint Pio Foundation will establish the religious traveling art exhibition “I Embrace You.”

A life size statue of Padre Pio titled “I Embrace You” will be made available around the country. The impressive statue was created by the renowned artist Timothy Schmalz and represents a replica of the original, conceptualized and sponsored by the Saint Pio Foundation, which was inaugurated in Pietrelcina on September 23, 2021, on the 53rd anniversary of the Saint’s passing, crowning a plaza dedicated to the “People of the United States of America”.

The statue “I Embrace You” depicts Padre Pio kneeling at the foot of the cross while receiving the blood pouring from Jesus’ hands into the stigmata for which Saint Pio was known and which were emblematic of the suffering that he endured throughout his life.

The statue will tour from May 2022 until September 2022. Together with the statue, the authentic relics of Padre Pio will also be made available for public veneration.

The statue and relics of Padre Pio will be available for public veneration at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the following dates and times:

• Monday, September 12, 2022: 12:00 pm — 6:30 pm

• Tuesday, September 13, 2022: 8:30 am — 6:30 pm

A Mass in Honor of Saint Pio will also be celebrated on September 13, 2022, at 7:00 pm, by His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark.