During his lifetime, the beloved Roman Catholic priest and friar known as Padre Pio was believed to levitate, heal the sick, read minds and bilocate — the power to be in two places at once. Since his death in 1968 and his canonization in 2002, believers say at least two of those gifts endure. Through prayer, the faithful still believe Padre Pio will heal their afflictions. And through relics, they believe he can be in multiple locations at the same time.

It is with those beliefs in mind that legions of his devoted followers are expected to descend on Chicago this week to see a prized exhibit of the Italian saint's relics. A half dozen of those relics, from a lock of hair to a brown wool habit, will be on display for public veneration Monday at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in the Dunning neighborhood and on Tuesday at St. Ita Catholic Church in Edgewater. The free exhibit heads to St. Louis on Wednesday and Thursday as part of a nationwide tour.