Vatican City, Mar 14, 2018 / 07:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday, Pope Francis will make a short trip to the Italian towns of Pietrelcina and San Giovanni Rotondo, the places where St. Padre Pio was born and lived his life, and where his work continues today in the form of the hospital he founded.

Pope Francis’ brief March 17 visit marks the year of the 50th anniversary of St. Padre Pio’s death, and the 100th year of the appearance of the saint’s visible stigmata.