In a sanctuary nestled in the greenery, where gazing towards the altar makes it impossible not to admire the magnificence of creation, the first monthly retreat of the Naples community of associates took place on 27 September.
The June retreat began with a question and culminated in a surprising answer that sheds light on life: “Where can we truly find Jesus?”
On 17 May 2026, the Communities of Associates in Ruvo di Puglia and Molfetta, together with the Community of Consecrated Women in Ruvo, welcomed the new President of the Servi della Sofferenza Association, Enrico Carnevalini.Together with him and his wife Cristiana, we spent a day of fellowship and brotherhood at the parish of San Giuseppein Molfetta, where Fr Raffaele Gramegna, Vicar of the Association and Community Assistant, carries out his ministry.Also present with us was Fr Vincenzo De Gregorio, Assistant to the Community of Associates in Ruvo.
In a very beautiful homily, to explain how we must welcome Jesus into our hearts, our Founding Father offered us a parable: our hearts must be ready and prepared to welcome Jesus, just as our home should be if we were to receive a visit from the Pope.
The missionary journey of the Servants of Suffering, which took place from 18 to 23 March, was not merely a visit, but a genuine encounter with God’s grace within our communities. From Italy, father Carlo Donati and father Ciro Savino undertook this journey all the way to California with total dedication, arriving in Modesto and Watsonville as close pastors, ready to serve with humility and love. In every visit to the sick, in every confession listened to with patience, and in every retreat shared, God’s comfort was made manifest, touching the depths of the hearts of those who took part.
On Saturday 28 March, a fraternal gathering took place by the tomb of our beloved Founding Father in preparation for Easter Sunday, attended by the communities of San Giorgio Ionico, Taranto and Maglie.
On Monday 23 March, the Rome community of the Servants of Suffering (priests, consecrated women and associates) experienced a moment of grace during the visit of the Institute’s Moderator, Fr Giuseppe Carrieri.
There is an atmosphere that, at times, becomes almost tangible: it is grace, the presence of the Lord who passes by and leaves our hearts filled, the Holy Spirit who moves our lives and arranges all things according to the divine will. This is what we experienced during the 6th Ordinary General Assembly of the Associated Servants of Suffering, held from 13 to 15 March 2026 at the Padre Pio Spirituality Centre in San Giovanni Rotondo. An event that was not merely a formal occasion, but a time filled with God, in which everyone felt part of something greater, culminating in the election of the new President and the new Executive Council.
On Saturday 15 November, communities of Servants of the Suffering from Chianciano, Naples and Rome gathered in Rome for a day of pilgrimage and fellowship. They met at the parish of St Thomas Aquinas, where our dear Don Domenico Vitulli carries out his pastoral work. He joyfully welcomed the approximately fifty participants.
On Friday 17th and Saturday 18th of October the community of Associates in Ireland held it monthly retreat at our Padre Pio Prayer centre located in the west of Ireland a few kilometres from Ireland's International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine.
Between Saturday 20 and Tuesday 23 September 2025, the Community of Associates organised the Triduum and the feast in honour of St Pio at the Immacolata Parish in Maglie. For the first time, all the parish associations and the Secular Franciscan Order of Maglie collaborated with the Servants of Suffering.
As a missionary team, we had the privilege of spending unforgettable days in London from September 18th to 21st, meeting many people in the parishes of Sacred Heart Church in Teddington, Our Lady of Sorrows in Twickenham, St. Joseph’s in Malden, and St. Matthew’s in Northwood.
'Now you are sorrowful, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you' (Jn 16:22–23).
I have been assigned the task of drafting an article about the intensity of these days when you are watching us from heaven, but I purposely choose to go off track, because now the real theme will be written by you, my beloved Father.
We share the interview given by the Vicar of the Institute, Don Raffaele Gramegna, to Padre Pio TV in memory of our beloved Father.
In the certainty of the blessed Resurrection, I announce that today, 14 January 2025 at 04.37, the love of the Heavenly Father called our beloved Father Founder, Msgr Pierino Galeone, to celebrate the Heavenly Liturgy.
On Saturday, September 7, 2024, the end-of-summer retreat was held at Casa San Paolo in Martina Franca (TA), a wonderful opportunity to come together and restart after the summer break. This is how Gigi and Patrizia, the respective leaders of the Taranto and San Giorgio Ionico communities, envisioned it. The chosen theme: Holiness in the Family, a focus on "Sanctifying oneself to Sanctify others," which was a central topic of the recent Spiritual Exercises in San Giovanni Rotondo.
Walking and running are bodily exercises, whereas spiritual exercises are called “the ways of disposing the soul to rid itself of all disordered affections and, once eliminated, to seek and find the divine will” in one's life for the salvation of the soul. So wrote St. Ignatius of Loyola and this is precisely what happened from August 21-25 during the spiritual exercises of the Servants of Suffering Associates held at St. John Rotondo.
