Venafro

An ancient center of Osco-Samnite origin, ancient Venafrum, was an important Roman town founded along the natural transit route between the Samnium and Campania regions, in the valley of the high course of the Volturno river. The Lombards annexed it to the Duchy of Benevento as the capital of the district administered by its steward; the Franks promoted it to the rank of county and in the 11th century it became part of the Princedom of Capua. As of the Hohenstaufen period and until the beginning of the 19th century it was the feud of several powerful families.
On all sides it appears "always full of majesty and beauty". Places of interest: the Romanesque cathedral, rebuilt in the 15th century, and its interior rearranged in the 18th century; Palazzo Caracciolo, a massive 15th-century defense building; the 1387 church of the Annunziata, rebuilt in the 18th century; the 15th-century castle.

Nearby, there are still remains of its polygonal walls, a theater and an amphitheater, a semicircular building - probably a nymphaeum - as well as remains of the Venafro aqueduct fed by the Volturno river. The convent, currently entrusted with the Capuchin friars, was built by benefactors and the municipality in 1573. It was shut down in 1811 and reopened in 1816; shut down again in 1867, three years later it welcomed Padre Clemente of Morcone who resumed officiating in the church, after which the latter was always open to the public.

The basilica of the martyr saints Nicandro, Daria and Marciano was entrusted with the Basilian friars, who officiated for almost one thousand years, until the papacy of Sixtus V. Through the good offices of the Prince of Sulmona and Lord of Venafro, Pope Gregory XIII annexed the church to the convent, entrusting the Capuchins with the specific task of looking after the sepulchre of the martyr saints and officiating in the basilica.
In October 1911, Provincial Father Benedetto of San Marco in Lamis accompanied Padre Pio to Naples to see the famous physician Antonio Cardarelli, who suggested taking the patient to Venafro, the nearest convent, since the young man could not undertake long voyages, his days being numbered and … very few.

During the month and a half spent in Venafro, the brotherhood noticed the first supernatural phenomena: "I witnessed - Padre Agostino writes - many ecstasies and many diabolic torments. What supported him was the Eucharist, both when he celebrated it and when he received only the Holy Communion, because he was forced to stay in bed. The enemy's torments did not last long: they lasted fifteen minutes at most. His divine visions lasted even one hour and they were always preceded or followed by diabolic torments. Padre Pio always recognized the diabolic apparitions as such simply by ordering "Say, hurrah for Jesus!" After recognizing them, he would always overcome them with the help of the Lord. Almost regularly, they were followed by an immediate apparition of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Guardian Angel.

www.padrepiogiovane.i

Photo gallery:

« Back to Padre Pio's places