c. 2007 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) A chain letter. Yes. A chain e-mail. Sure.

But chain bread?

This most unlikely pass-along commodity is said to have begun in an equally unlikely place _ the Vatican. But while it may be unlikely, it’s probably lucky. If you’re going to eat something that’s been kicking around for a long time, a celestial component can only be a good thing.

The foodstuff in question is the Holy Bread of Padre Pio. Once given, the rules say, it can’t be refused, and participation is a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. It is said to bring good luck to those who eat it.

This has been around long enough to have spawned lots of banter on the Internet _ but I’d never heard of it until my sisters became links in the chain. Neither was inclined to pass it to me. The endeavor takes 10 days and the dough is kept at room temperature the entire time.

“You spend more time in your car than at home,” one sister said. “And it’s not exactly room temperature outside.” But the church has itinerant preachers, so I decided I could be an itinerant baker. Besides, I needed good luck. Or the perception of it.

Truth be told, after a day of traveling, the dough spent most of its time on my desk at work, camouflaged, of course. And between my sister’s glass bowl and the wooden spoon in the office kitchen, I knew I could rise to the occasion.

On two days, there is nothing to do but watch the dough grow.

For six days, the baker is required only to stir the bread.

That leaves just two days of real work, adding things like sugar and flour and milk.

I have spent far more time reading about the bread than I did on its preparation.

On Day 10, the dough must be shared with three people. Mine didn’t go very far; it was passed to three friends at work. But just one had heard of Padre Pio.

At age 15, this son of a shepherd (1887-1968) entered a monastery in Italy. He joined the order at 19 and was ordained at 22.

He founded a hospital, the House for the Relief of Suffering in San Giovanni Rotondo, in southern Italy, the year I was born. And he was canonized by Pope John Paul II on my birthday in 2002. (More than enough to convince me I had to make this bread.)

Many miracles have been attributed to Padre Pio. One is said to have occurred in Italy during World War II, when bread was being rationed. The monastery always had many guests and the poor came there to beg. One day the friars found they had only about two pounds of bread. Padre Pio went to the church and came back with a pile of it.

Hence, the origin of the bread, which produces several small miracles every 10 days when one portion of dough becomes four. Think miracle of the loaves and fishes.

The recipe apparently is the same as for Amish Friendship Bread, which made the rounds in the 1970s. One blogger said she accepted Padre Pio bread in that spirit of friendship, while others said the focus of the task should be on sharing. Even if the only things that come of the experience are friendship and sharing, that isn’t so bad.

Another blogger said she modified the instructions. Not believing in good luck, she changed that part to blessings. Having friends is a blessing, she wrote. And she is right. (One of my friends made some modifications, too. Realizing she was out of flour, she substituted a scone mix with currants!)

The Vatican part someone called poppycock. And a blogger from the Philippines told of being warned away from the chain by a religious leader, advised to give reverence instead to relics officially endorsed by the church.

This is bread, for heaven’s sake, not a golden idol.

An American military man who met Padre Pio during World War II beat the drums for his beatification. He said of the monk: His spirit has crossed all borders.

So does this chain. One of my sisters got it from a Jewish friend. We three are Eastern Orthodox. I gave it to two Catholics and a Protestant-raised semi-Buddhist.

Cooking and eating, friendship and sharing know no bounds.

And, for me, just getting the thing baked was a small miracle. Just ask my colleagues who know I rarely cook; I shared the tasty cornbread-like concoction with them.

Oh, one more small miracle. They are all still standing.

(Suzanne Popadin writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)

KRE/PH END POPADIN

Editors: To obtain photos of Padre Pio, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.