"Let us strive to be always behind this blessed Mother"

Padre Pio's devotion to the Blessed Virgin, the same one that he recommended to his penitents and directees, was very simple: in addition to the liturgical feasts in her honor, which he celebrated with fervor, it was chiefly centered on the Rosary. He prayed it continually, evoking, meditating and praying with Mary - which is what the Rosary is all about - each of the mysteries of Jesus' life. 

His fellow friars would also see him in the sacristy, meditating and praying at the foot of a picture of Our Lady of Sorrows.

In a letter from 1912, he wrote: "How many times have I confided to this mother the tormented anguish of my restless heart! And how often has she comforted me! In difficult moments, it seems to me that I no longer have a mother on earth, but one, full of pity, in Heaven... Poor little Mama, how she loves me! I felt it again at the beginning of this month (of May). She accompanied me to the altar this morning with such loving care! I wish that I had a stronger voice, to invite sinners all over the world to go to Our Lady."

He goes on to write: "I feel myself burning without a fire. I feel clasped and bound to the Son by means of this Mother, without even seeing the chains that bind me so tightly." 

Padre Pio saw in this Mother the one who leads to Jesus and who, through her powerful intercession, obtained countless graces from him.

And in a letter from 1915, he wrote: "Let us strive, like other chosen souls, to always be behind this blessed Mother, and to always walk by her side, for there is no other road that leads to life but the one taken by our Mother: we who wish to reach the end must not refuse to take this path".

Adapted from Marian Encyclopedia