http://www.sign.org/articles/excerpts-everything-need-know-survive I came across this article the other day and considered purchasing St. Benedict Medal and 12 Way Scapular that it discusses based on the extraordinary promises attached to the pious use of the items. However, I became somewhat leary after being unable to find any information on the alleged stigmatic, Capuchin priest, Fr. David; no last name, no pictures of his face, or specific information on the orphanages he is affiliated with. The only website that refers to Fr. David is Mary's Way Apostalate, from which the story originates. Is anyone familiar with this story? I'd like to know if this is bogus or not.
I would say you don't need this personally. Any brown scapular is all you need but you need to get enrolled. I finally had a priest enroll me recently but once enrolled always enrolled. I also wear a St. Benedict medal and the Miraculous medal and believe in them for their own history and not this site you found. I don't know anything about this site though.
Thank you Connie. However, the link that you posted is the one that I referred to in my original post. Sign.org obtained their information from this site. It just seems surprising to me that someone who supposedly has the mystical experiences discussed in the article remains relatively unknown. Not impossible, just surprising. If there is another website with information about Fr. David that isn't just cut and pasted from Mary's Way, then I would be interested to see it. Are there any known stigmatics around thesedays? Just curious. I'm not very knowledgable in that area.
I believe in fact there are quite a few stigmatics in the world at the moment. This is in line with what St Louis Mary De Montford famously said, that the saints of the latter days would be greater than the former saints as the Lebanon Cedar overshoots other trees. Off hand I can think of at least two. A priest in Rome and a house wife /mother in England. The lady in England has survived by only consuming the Eucharist for many years. Do a google search. Of course many are false , but some are true.
From http://justabrother.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-new-capuchin-stigmatic.html : A new Capuchin stigmatic? Two brothers have brought to my attention that a website operating in the United States claims to be raising money for "Fr. David", who, according to the site, is a Capuchin with the stigmata. According to the account on the website, when he was an infant "Fr. David" was cured by Padre Pio. He later entered the Capuchin Order and now runs two orphanages in Italy. I have researched the matter thoroughly and can say with moral certainty that there is no such friar in the Capuchin Order. Here are the facts: A check of the Order's database shows that none of the Italian provinces have anyone named David or Davide of an age consistent with the story presented on the website. The postulation for the cause of Pio of Pietralcina claims to know nothing of this miraculous cure, nor of anyone bearing the stigmata. To my knowledge, no Capuchin province runs an orphanage in Italy. Both the current and former general ministers of the Order have denied knowledge of any living stigmatic in the Order. Perhaps most telling is the fact that while there are many photographs of "Fr. David's" stigmata, there is never a clear photograph of his face. As a wise, holy friar told me,"i santi mostrano il loro volto luminoso e nascondono i doni mistici, come le stimmate. Questo fa il contrario" ("a saint will show the radiance of his face and hide mystical gifts, such as the stigmata. This person does the opposite"). Given the fact that Padre Pio's name is being used to solicit donations, it would be prudent to warn the Padre Pio prayer groups of your area against falling for the story of this modern-day stigmatic.
