Prayers and protests as Italian saint exhumed

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

ROME (AFP) — Dozens of devout Catholics held prayers in a southern Italian town on Monday to protest against the exhumation of the body of a 20th century saint, which will be put on public display next month.

The body of Padre Pio -- whose portrait hangs on the walls of millions of Italian homes and businesses -- is to be exhibited in April to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.

Padre Pio, who died in 1969, was dug up overnight between Sunday and Monday in a supposedly secret operation at its resting place at the San Giovanni Rotondo in Apulia, the southern peninsula of Italy.

The Order of Capuchin friars, to whom Padre Pio belonged, intends to display his body in the crypt of a local church despite a legal fight from some believers who called it...