The National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Santo Tomas, Batangas was officially declared an international shrine on Wednesday, placing the 17-hectare complex among the Catholic Church’s premier global pilgrimage destinations.

Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, led the solemn declaration service.

“Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving as we witness a moment of profound ecclesial significance: the official declaration of this Shrine of Padre Pio as an international shrine,” Garcera said during the ceremony.

“The elevation of this shrine is not merely an honor bestowed upon a particular church. It is a recognition of the spiritual significance of this place, of the devotion to Padre Pio that has spread beyond the boundaries of Batangas, the Archdiocese of Lipa, throughout the Philippines, and across Asia,” he added.

Under the Vatican’s Code of Canon Law, international shrine designations require direct approval from the Holy See.

Garcera cited that the process began in 2022 following a formal petition from the shrine’s director requesting Asian shrine status.

After gaining approvals from local church bodies, the petition was submitted to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

The dicastery approved the petition and issued a decree on 25 May — the 139th anniversary of Padre Pio’s birth — formalizing the Batangas sanctuary’s spiritual bond with the Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where the Italian Capuchin friar lived and is buried.

Saint Padre Pio, famous for bearing the stigmata, died in 1968 at age 81 and was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.