Padre Pio shrine gains international status

STO. TOMAS CITY, Batangas — The National Shrine and Parish of St. Padre Pio in Sto. Tomas City was formally declared an international shrine on Wednesday, 23 September, becoming only the second Catholic shrine in the Philippines to receive the designation.

The declaration coincided with the feast day of St. Padre Pio and followed a decree issued by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization on May 25, 2026, the 139th birth anniversary of the Italian Capuchin saint.

The designation places the Batangas pilgrimage site alongside the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City, the country’s first international shrine.

Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera said the recognition marks an important milestone for Batangas, the Archdiocese of Lipa and the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

Church officials expect the shrine’s international status to strengthen pilgrimage activity and attract more devotees from other parts of the Philippines and abroad.

The Sto. Tomas shrine, which houses first-class relics of St. Padre Pio, has grown into a major pilgrimage destination since it began as a small chapel in 2003. It became an archdiocesan shrine in 2008 and a national shrine in 2015.