Some of the more recent documentation of stigmata will involve the two priests mentioned in this article. The first, Zlatko Sudac ,a Roman Catholic diocesan priest , was a member of the Yugoslav army before his ordainment. The second priest mentioned is Francesco Forgione (later known as Padre Pio) who claimed to have seen heavenly visions when he was young. A third stigmatic , a Catholic saint , is also discussed.
Zlatko Sudac
This Roman Catholic diocesan priest who lived in Croatia was born in 1971 and was best known for his stigmata. In the past, Sudac was studying to enter the priesthood in 1993, which followed a mandatory military service with the Yugoslav army. In June of 1998, he was ordained a priest and currently delivers religious seminars and holds retreats. Sudac is known all through Croatia as bearing a cross on his forehead. Markings have also appeared on his feet, wrists, as well as the side of his body. As a novice painter, Sudac states that the stigmata will appear on the tops of his fingers when he paints.
Francesco Forgione
Born in 1887, Francesco Forgione (who would later become known as Padre Pio) served as an Italian Roman Catholic Capuchin priest, who earned the title of a saint within the Roman Catholic Church. It was after he become ordained as a priest that he gained the name of Padre Pio. Additionally, he became well known for his stigmata.
When he was young, Francesco told people that he would experience visions of heaven and ecstasies. After completing three years of public school, he began to take more and more interest in becoming a friar. All of this came after listening to a Capuchin friar who was making his way about the countryside in search of donations. Francesco told his parents that he wished to explore this way of life more. They responded by arranging a trip Morcone, which was a community, located 13 miles north of Pietrelcina , hoping to learn whether or not their son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The monks expressed interest in the youth, but stated that he required additional qualifications in education.
Later in life, Francesco was known for alleged supernatural phenomena and as Padre Pio , would gain notoriety as a miracle worker. Many believed that he possessed the gift of “reading souls.” Eyewitnesses also reported that he had the ability to bilocate, which means that he was able to appear in two or more places at the same time.
Saint Catherine de’ Ricci
Saint Catherine de’ Ricci (1522 , 1590) was an Italian Catholic who later became a saint and led a rather interesting life. A native of Florence, she was actually born Alessandra Lucrezia Romola de Ricci. When she was six years old, her father sent her to the Monticelli convent, which was located close to their home. This is where she received an education. A short time passed and when she was fourteen, she traveled to the Dominican convent of San Vincenza in Tuscany. Reports state that her meditation on the passion of Christ was so intense that she spontaneously bled as if whipped. All of this is attributed to her deep religious beliefs that started at a rather young age. She too was known for appearing hundreds of miles away from where she was physically standing.