IBA, Zambales— On a cloudy Saturday morning in Barangay Dirita-Baloguen, the sound of shovels breaking soil marked more than just the start of construction — it signaled the birth of a spiritual sanctuary years in the making.
As about 300 faithful gathered at the Bethel Place of Solitude on Aug. 23, the feast of St. Rose of Lima, the Diocese of Iba officially broke ground on the Santuario de San Pio, a shrine dedicated to healing, prayer and the intercession of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, widely known as Padre Pio.
Bishop Bartolome Santos Jr. of Iba presided over a Mass, joined by five priests from the diocese. They offered prayers for the shrine’s successful construction and future pastoral mission — one intended to reach far beyond Zambales.
After the Mass, devotees — many longtime members of the local Padre Pio Prayer Groups — processed to the future shrine site for the ceremonial lowering of a time capsule and groundbreaking.
The shrine’s roots date back to October 2018, when a group of pilgrims from Zambales traveled to the Manila Cathedral to venerate Padre Pio’s heart relic, which was visiting the Philippines for the first time. That moment inspired the formation of prayer groups across the diocese. Years of devotion, prayer and community outreach followed, ultimately driving the realization of the shrine.
The future Santuario de San Pio will be managed by Our Lady’s Hermits of Bethel in collaboration with the diocesan Padre Pio Prayer Groups.
Organizers hope the site becomes a refuge for those seeking spiritual and physical healing through the saint known for his stigmata, humility and miracles.
On Sept. 23, the Feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, 43 devotees from the diocese will embark on a 13-day pilgrimage titled “In the Footsteps of Padre Pio,” led by Fr. Kenneth Masong, spiritual director of the diocesan prayer groups.
As part of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope, the pilgrims will travel to Italy to receive a first-class relic of Padre Pio from the Capuchin Generalate in Rome.
They will bring with them the relic on their return to Zambales, where it will be enshrined at the Santuario de San Pio for veneration by the faithful throughout the province and beyond.
