| ------¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤------- Mary, the American -------¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤------- Taken From SEND ME YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL, St. Padre Pio: Written by Fr. Alessio Parente O.F.M. CAP. " . . . Where have you come from . . . ? (Gen. 16:8)  It would be difficult to write a book concerning Padre Pio without some mention of a saintly lady who spent most of her life near his side. Mary Pyle was born in Morristown, New Jersey, daughter of James Tolman Pyle and Adeline McAlpin. Her family was quite wealthy, her father having made a fortune in the soap business. All her family were faithful Presbyterians and Mary grew up in that atmosphere. In her infancy and adolescence, she differed greatly from her four brothers and one sister in intelligence and piety. Her education was mainly obtained in private schools and it was privately also, that she learned to speak fluently, Spanish, Italian, French and German. She also studied music, singing and dance to her advantage. Her youth was spent frequenting the high society together with her family. She enjoyed horse riding very much and, on one occasion, after a severe fall, which resulted in a foot complaint later in life she was heard to say: "This is in reparation for all the dancing I've done." During her adolescent years, Mary was taken to Europe quite often and, on one of these occasions, she met the famous doctor Maria Montessori, propagator of a revolutionary new method of teaching from infancy, with particular regard to the retarded child. This resulted in Maria Montessori asking Mary if she would like to travel with her and act as her interpreter. At that time, Mary could speak English, Spanish, Italian and German fluently. During her travels, she became profoundly interested in the Catholic faith and, at the age of 25 years, she was Baptized in the Catholic church in Spain. Her mother, on hearing the news, was horrified and in Mary's own words: "When she was making her will, she excluded me as if I were not her daughter." At the age of 35, Mary, having heard about Padre Pio, decided to go and see him for herself. We do not know much about that first meeting except that Mary herself said: "We looked at one another only. Then, I fell on my knees and said: 'Padre'. He put his wounded hands on my head and said to me: 'My daughter, do not travel anymore. Stay here.' " Thus Mary built herself a villa close to the Friary; furnished it in a franciscan manner and settled down under the spiritual direction of Padre Pio. Mary naturally began to receive English-speaking visitors in her home and thus a lively correspondence between the spiritual children of Padre Pio commenced. In many of her letters, the Guardian Angels were mentioned and, for her, as for Padre Pio, they were of the utmost importance: "Dear Catherine Morran", she wrote on 2 February 1958, "Just a few lines written in great haste, to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your letter, and also for the Christmas card and offering. I gave it all for the new church which is really progressing beautifully. I knew you would not mind as it gave me greater pleasure than if I had bought something for myself. When the church is finished, I do hope that you will be able to come and see it. I warn you that I am very old. Do not forget to send your Guardian Angel to our beloved Padre Pio and he will hear you. Lots of love and a very special blessing from Padre Pio. Your far away sister Mary Pyle And on another occasion she wrote: "Dear Mrs. Julia Rogers, I have received your letter, good wishes and pretty card and have recommended you spiritually to Padre Pio, as you can do yourself. He sends you his blessing and will do so every time you ask it through your Guardian Angel." Mary always asked those who wrote to her to pray to the Guardian Angel and surely, this was not without encouragement from Padre Pio himself. She was one of the few women with whom he would stop for a while to have a chat. Not only was she close to our beloved Padre, but she also took care of his parents in her villa when old-age came upon them. They both, in fact, died in her home. The following little story concerning the Guardian Angels was taken from the book * "Maria Pyle" by Bonaventura Massa: "In the early months of 1946, Zi' Orazio, as everybody called Padre Pio's father, fell down the stairs in Mary's house. He was really very lucky that he was not killed with the fall. When he complained to Padre Pio of some of the pain he suffered afterwards, Padre Pio said to him: 'Instead, thank your Guardian Angel who placed a cushion on every step!" Such was a brief look at the life of Mary Pyle who, without a doubt, left her mark on San Giovanni Rotondo. She died in Franciscan poverty, leaving her house to the Friary but she has certainly not been forgotten here, in this little village on the Gargano Mountain. HOME--------------------------------------GALLERIES |
