A future pope wrote Padre Pio a desperate letter asking him to pray for a woman dying of cancer. Just 11 days later, he sent a second letter with news no one expected. In 1947, a young Polish priest named Karol Wojtyła traveled to Italy to meet Padre Pio. He spent several days at the monastery, attended Mass, and went to confession with the famous friar. Fifteen years later, in 1962, Wojtyła was attending the Second Vatican Council in Rome when he received devastating news. His close friend, Dr. Wanda Półtawska, had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Her condition was serious, and doctors were preparing for surgery. Wojtyła remembered Padre Pio and wrote him a personal letter in Latin, begging him to pray for her healing. When Padre Pio received the letter, he reportedly said, "I cannot say no to this request." What happened next would connect these two men forever. Before Wanda could undergo surgery, doctors discovered that her tumor had disappeared. The operation wa...
