Padre Pio: The True Story (Revised, Expanded)

Great book, one of the best saints ever. A great factual book and it is written by a non-catholic Author who is very honest and very loyal to the truth

I approached this book with some hesitation, given its length and the conroversial nature of its subject. Having read other lives of saints that lacked critical perspective about sources, I was wary of this one at first. All of my doubts were dispelled by the abundance of carefully assembled evidence in this volume. Pio is a saint for all of us, as this book makes clear. You will learn much about the spiritual world here, and gain some valuable lessons about the limitations of more "worldly" perspectives than those of Pio. Your life will permanently change for the better as a result.

This is a book that changes how one thinks about spiritual things completely. As "moderns" we find it easy to believe in "spiritual" things, but we easily divorce that from religion. When one reads this book, one's eyes are open to the true depth of spirituality and traditional Christianity. The author is not a brilliant writer, but his prose and research are exactly what is needed to tell Padre Pio's story in a straighforward and truthful manner.Yes, this book brought me back from being a "modern spiritual" person, to being a practicing Catholic again.Read it! You will be amazed!

What I didn't realize until I was nearly at the end of this book is that the author is not a Catholic. He is an American Protestant, as well as being a good writer. So his viewpoint is not gullible or uncritical, but it is respectful and intelligent. I was able to get a rounded picture of Padre Pio from this book. And in the end, I came to believe that Padre Pio had unique gifts and mystical experiences.

Though at times, Ruffin is repetitive you walk away from this book with a glimpse of a true saint. You are given the good and the bad side of Padre Pio; how the Lord uses both in building up the Body of Christ...this book will stir you emotionally; witnessing the power of Christ in the 20th century.