WWI has ended but events surrounding the first free election in Italy threaten to tear the village apart. Padre Pio struggles with his own personal demons, ultimately emerging to become one of Catholicism's most venerated figures.
In this powerful drama directed by acclaimed filmmaker Abel Ferrara, a young priest, Padre Pio (Shia LaBeouf), begins his ministry at a remote Capuchin monastery in Italy's San Giovanni Rotondo. WWI has ended and Italian soldiers - broken but victorious - are returning to the impoverished village ruled by wealthy landowners. As events surrounding the first free election in Italy threaten to tear the village apart, Padre Pio struggles with his own personal demons, ultimately emerging from his spiritual anguish to become one of Catholicism's most venerated figures.—Maze Pictures
Padre Pio suffers from the turmoil of WWI. Now that the war ended, he arrives at San Giovanni Rotondo after living with his family in Pietrelcina for a number of years. While still sick from a lung infection, he continues to encounter Satan while he prays. Satan reveals himself as the instigator of the war and the sociopolitical problems of San Giovanni. He beats Padre Pio. He tempts him to despair, trying to convince him that the people will turn away from God. While having little contact with the people because of his illness, Padre Pio learns what the poor are suffering from in the Sacrament of Confession and the Holy Mass, such as when a crippled man walks again because of Padre Pio's prayer. Besides the effects of war, such as the death of their family members and health conditions, they suffer from corrupt, wealthy landowners. Many of them join the socialist party as a way to improve their lives. Satan now reveals himself as a penitent man confessing his sins or as a naked woman to prevent Padre Pio from helping the people. He influences the decisions of the socialists. He convinces the landowners to mistreat them. They plan to win the first free election against the socialists. However, after the socialists win the election, a number of them are massacred by the landowners. Socialism fails to work. The landowners do not reconcile with the people. Padre Pio asks God to become a suffering servant for them all. He receives the wounds of Jesus Christ. The stigmata disrupts Satan's influence on San Giovanni Rotondo.