The Padre Pio Reading Center, inaugurated in May 1990, is an initiative that has vast horizons before it, since it is located at the center of the Padre Pio Citadel near the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Home for the Relief of Suffering. It now numbers among the National Franciscan Libraries associated to the ABEI (Associazione Bibliotecari Ecclesiastici Italiani - Italian Ecclesiastical Library Association) and liaises with the Ministry of the Environmental, Library and Cultural Heritage.

It is specialized in the following fields:

1. The life and spirituality of Padre Pio. Demand for this service came from the grassroots level. Pilgrims and tourists expressed the wish for a reading center in which they could deepen their knowledge of the life and spirituality of the Blessed Father.
2. The spirituality and history of the Franciscan movement of which Padre Pio is a part.
3. The spirituality and history of the Church, the history of San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia, Italy and other nations.

The Reading Center contains a virtually complete collection of everything written about the stigmatized priest from 1919 to the present day - cuttings from newspapers, magazines and journals, pamphlets, books - eighty years' worth of media resonance. This precious collection will be particularly useful to anyone wishing to carry out research for a university thesis on matters concerning the life and times of the Blessed Father.

The present stock comprises 35,000 catalogued volumes, 5,000 pamphlets, 2,500 manuscripts, 250 charts and maps, 60 journals, 1,000 photographs, 100 slides, 700 records, 200 cassettes and 100 video-cassettes. As of the beginning of this year, all this material is being filed on computer software.

In recent years the Reading Center has been embellished with paintings and sculptures. All original works, they have been placed in the offices, the reading room, the veranda, the corridor and the conference room. On the first floor a small museum now displays medals and sculptures of Padre Pio, in addition to 31 paintings by a range of artists. Some of these have been awarded first prize at the bi-annual Sacred Art Exhibition.

The conference room displays the original model for the monument to Padre Pio which stands in the village square; it was sculpted by the late Pericle Fazzini.

The Reading Center is becoming an increasingly important spiritual reference point for those who feel the need for a pause for prayer and reflection on their visit or sojourn in San Giovanni Rotondo.

USEFUL INFORMATION:

Opening hours:
8.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
and 4.00 to 6.30 p.m.
Entry free of charge.