Q. Someone told me that St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) once affirmed the existence of intelligent life on other planets. Is this true?
A. According to the late Msgr. Corrado Balducci (1923–2008), a member of the Vatican Curia and long-time exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome, St. Pio (feast day this week, September 23) did in fact affirm the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. In a paper entitled “Ufology and Theological Clarifications,” presented at Pescara, Italy, in 2001, the Monsignor reported: