The holy blood and the holy grail

Following the exhumation of Padre Pio's body, two teenaged entrepreneurs are asking ten grand for a phial of what they say is the bearded bi-locationist's blood.

Eamonn McCann, 19 Mar 2008

I see that the Virgin Mary pretzel from Canton, Georgia, went for $20,100 in the end. The winning bid came in on February 24. eBay had attempted to halt the sale of the remarkable biscuit in the likeness of the mother of god because it hadn’t been listed as perishable. (eBay hasn’t quite grasped the concept of perishability in the context of Catholic eschatology.) Anyway, the effort to stymie the sale failed in face of the fervour of the faithful.

The free-wheeling online marketplace has, however, called a halt on bidding for an Egg McMuffin from Detroit in the likeness of Charles Darwin.

Next up: a phial of Padre Pio’s blood. The initiative, by a pair of entrepreneurial Italian teenagers, comes as preparations are finalised for next month’s public display of the stigmatised body (what joy to be able to use that word properly at last: coming soon – “awesome”) to mark the 40th anniversary of the bearded bi-locationist’s death(s). The exhumation, at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo, took place around midnight on March 3 in conditions of strict secrecy, so as to avoid millions of ga-ga devotees assembling in dangerous array. Pio’s remains are to be placed in a glass coffin and will be exhibited from April 24, for four weeks only.

“His body,” says local archbishop Domenico D’Ambrosio, who knows a thing or two about perishability, “is extremely well-preserved considering that he has been dead for 40 years.”

A hotline for reserving tickets for viewings collapsed on March 4 under pressure of calls.

Luc D’Allessandro, 18, has refused to explain how he came by the phial of Pio’s blood but offers “to submit it to any scientific examination a buyer desires.” He expects bidding to begin at “ten thousand dollars, at least.”

“I am sure that Padre Pio would have approved,” says Luc.

I’m sure he would, too.

Meanwhile, if you are sitting at your computer right now and in need of an excuse to put off working for another while, check out Rafael Brom’s “Dance for Padre Pio” on hk.youtube.com/watch?v=25RDOTG1eTU

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