Padre Pio

Pope Leo XIV has placed the hospital founded by Padre Pio under direct Vatican control following years of financial turmoil and mounting debt at the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza in southern Italy. Pope Leo XIV has moved to take direct control of the hospital founded by Padre Pio after years of financial turmoil at the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza in San Giovanni Rotondo. In a chirograph issued on 28 May, the Pope established a new Steering and Supervisory Commission with extensive powers over the foundation governing the hospital, one of the largest Catholic medical institutions in Europe. The document grants the commission authority to act “in derogation of current legislation and without requiring any authorisation” and, where necessary, “even in place of the Foundation’s statutory bodies”. The commission will be chaired by Maximino Caballero Ledo, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, while Fabio Gasperini, secretary of the same dicastery, will serve as coordinator. Other members include Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti and Archbishop Giorgio Ferretti. A technical committee attached to the body will include Benjamin Estévez de Cominges, currently secretary-general of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, the hospital’s current director general, Gino Gumirato, and the lawyer Alessandro Ela Oyana. The decree effectively places the Vatican directly in charge of the institution founded by St Pio of Pietrelcina in 1956. The hospital receives tens of thousands of patients every year and employs around 2,700 staff. The foundation’s finances has been under scrutiny after reports of increasing debt and internal disputes over staffing and management. The Italian television programme Far West reported earlier this year on what it described as “a story of multimillion-euro debts, €250 million in total, inflated paycheques and cronyism. A story of money disappearing from the saint’s hospital.” Gumirato later disputed the figure broadcast by the programme, saying: “Talking about a €250 million deficit is incorrect. The Foundation’s actual debts to suppliers are approximately €108 million.” He added that the debts had to be considered alongside receivables owed to the hospital by the Puglia regional government, estimated at around €32 million. The Vatican intervention comes after years of concern inside the Holy See over the management of the institution. In 2019, Domenico Crupi resigned as director general after serving in the role since 2007. He was replaced by Michele Giuliani following pressure from the Secretariat of State. According to reports, concerns had emerged that the true financial position of the foundation had not been fully represented to the Holy See. Crupi rejected accusations of financial irregularities at the time and referred to “the financial equilibrium certified by an international auditing firm”. The latest crisis intensified in late 2025 after management announced changes to employment contracts for doctors and staff as part of restructuring measures. Trade unions responded by declaring a state of unrest and planning strike action. Demonstrations were later held outside the hospital. Italian media reported that during a Christmas gathering attended by Archbishop Franco Moscone of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo, employees confronted members of the management team and demanded resignations. Moscone subsequently acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and said: “The Holy See is aware of the situation; it is up to them to make the most important decisions. The foundation can’t do much more than that. Perhaps the Holy See itself doesn’t know what to do.” The decree also gives Caballero Ledo authority to represent the foundation before Italian public authorities, allowing the Vatican-appointed body to intervene directly in civil and administrative matters linked to the hospital’s operations. Although the existing board formally remains in place, practical authority over the institution now rests with the Vatican commission. Padre Pio conceived the hospital as a “home for the relief of suffering” and oversaw its creation in the impoverished Gargano region of southern Italy after the Second World War. The Capuchin friar personally appealed for international donations to finance the project, which became one of the most significant charitable works associated with a modern saint. In 1957, Padre Pio asked Pope Pius XII to ensure that ownership of the hospital would pass directly to the Holy See after his death. The request was accepted and, following the friar’s death in 1968, the institution came under Vatican ownership.