Padre Domenico da Cese (1905-1978), Stigmatist Capuchin Who Gave the Holy Face Back to the World

Padre Domenico, friend and fellow Capuchin of St. Padre Pio, also bore the Stigmata, marks of the wounds of Christ. From 1965 to 1978 Padre Domenico was the Rector of the Shrine of the Holy Face of Manoppello. During those years he devotedly dedicated himself to the spreading of the knowledge of the Holy Face, which he considered not sufficiently known. In 1977 Padre Domenico had the foresight to bring to the Eucharistic Congress of Pescara a large photograph of the Holy Face so that it might be brought to the attention of all at that important gathering. A journalist from Switzerland in attendance at the Congress was so moved, that he wrote the first article in German about the Holy Face. It was this article that caught the attention of Sr. Blandina Schloemer and caused her to begin her great mission to share the knowledge of the Holy Face with the world. But it was to Padre Domenico that we all owe our deepest gratitude for this most precious gift of the world's first sight in 400 years of the Holy Face. In these days the cause for the beatification of Padre Domenico will be opened in the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. (The photograph and information on Padre Domenico's life is taken from an article by Antonio Bini which appeared in the magazine of the Shrine of the Holy Face)