On January 22, 1965, Dorothy and Frank Tenaglia were blessed with their second son, Francis. Everything seemed normal but within a couple of months health problems began surfacing. Frank would consistently cry after being fed and he didn't have the strength to suck his bottle. The concerned parents took him to the doctor's day after day till finally the doctor sent him for a complete head to toe set of x-rays. What the tests revealed was an enlarged liver, a slightly enlarged cranium and an open intestinal malformation that was causing severe pain while he was digesting. Eight weeks after birth Frank endured his first operation to resolve the intestinal problem. Everything seemed fine for a while.

A little over two years went by when a family friend, a physician became concerned that Frank was not talking or attempting to move around like toddlers his age. It was discovered after careful measurements that his cranium was enlarging at a abnormal rate. He was brought to a neurologist who, after several exams gave them the devastating news that Frank was hydrocephalic ( water on the brain). The specialist explained to them that the brain is bathed, inside and out with cerebrospinal fluid. If the membrane covering the brain is defective in anyway or if the fluid is blocked in any way, that fluid will build up in the cavities of the brain and cause the loosely connected bones of the skull to spread apart and eventually cause mental retardation, brain damage and death. In addition to this problem it was discovered that Frank was not responding to sounds as a normal child and was getting chronic ear infections. But the major concern was the hydrocephalus.

There were two options at that time open to them. One was to give Frank daily massages to keep the fluids circulating through his body. If this didn't slow the progression of the condition he'd need surgery. The surgery was explained to them this way. Frank would be given a general anesthetic and a small hole would be drilled into his skull. A fine tube called a shunt with a one-way valve would be inserted in the hole and installed between his brain at one end and a major blood vessel leading into his heart at the other. The built up fluid would drain into the bloodstream through the tube. The doctor also cautioned that as Frank grew, the tube might become blocked causing him pain, vomiting which would require repetition of the procedure. They began the messages immediately and took Frank to chiropractors to make sure he was in spinal alignment. He was taken to the neurologist five times a week for measurements. Frank's parents were of the Catholic religion, attended mass daily and prayed for a miracle so their son would not have to endure another serious surgery.

One year before Frank's birth his grandparents, Margaret and Joseph Tenaglia, were touring Italy and had heard of the holy Capuchin monk Padre Pio of Pietrelcina who wore the habit of St. Francis of Assisi. In 1915 Padre Pio received a miracle of the visible wounds of Christ. He bore these wounds which visibly bled(the Stigmata) from 1918 until his death in September of 1968. Padre Pio possessed the blessed gifts of miraculous cures, prophetic insight, reading of hearts, bilocation, celestial perfume and he knew the sins of penitents without their speaking. Padre Pio was declared "BLESSED" by the Catholic Church on May 2, 1999. This is the third step for him to be elevated to Sainthood.

The Tenaglia's went to see Padre Pio and spoke of their experience with him, witnessing thousands of people devoted to him because of his miraculous cures. The grandparents begged Frank's mother and father. "Go to Padre Pio and ask for a cure for young Frank" Desperate and despondent, Frank's father left immediately.

Upon arriving in Italy he met with his cousin John who took him to San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia, Italy to seek Padre Pio's help. Dorothy stayed home with little Frank to continue the treatments and prepare him for the eventual surgery. When they arrived at San Giovanni they saw Padre Pio preparing to hear confession. Not knowing either of them or why they had come, Padre Pio said to John as he approached, "Get out, and come back when you have been faithful to the church and to your wife !" Frank's cousin was stunned and embarrassed. Padre Pio then motioned to Frank to come to confession. When he was through with his confession, Frank began to tell him of the urgent reason he had come to Italy. Padre Pio stopped him from speaking and said, "Don't worry about little Francis. He will be fine and I will always look after him". Frank was so stunned and amazed, he didn't know what to say. He wept and simply said. "Thank you". He left excitedly for the United States the next day.

Upon returning he was greeted with the great news that the gradual building up of fluid in Frank's head was inexplainably slowing. Two weeks after Padre Pio spoke to big Frank the doctors released Frank as a normal child. The enlargement of his crania had stopped. There was no need for the surgery. The doctors could not explain medically why the condition suddenly ceased. The x-ray showed that the condition does exist but there are no symptoms. The whole family rejoiced and concentrated next on Frank's loss of hearing. The doctor's told them that the hearing loss was caused by infection from the constant buildup of fluids in his ears but assured them the fluid was not related to the resolved hydrocephalic problem. the doctors told Frank's parents that the fluid in the ears must be removed or the bones of the middle ears might become cemented together causing permanent deafness. The procedure that needed to be done consisted of a small thin needle passing through the eardrum while the fluid is sucked out of the ear canal through a syringe. With faith in the words of Padre Pio that "I will always look after Francis", they agreed to the procedure.

The procedure was performed, but the infections and fluid buildup continued. Frank needed a small incision in his eardrums (myringotomy). Tubes were inserted so air could dry out the middle ear. Still his hearing would not return to an acceptable level. Frank had to have the myringotomy procedure done five times before the infections stopped. His hearing began to improve as his eardrums healed and he started to make sounds.

One day when Frank wa s almost three years old Dorothy was about to turn on the electric sweeper to do some house cleaning. Frank started humming the exact note that the sweeper's motor was about to make. Not knowing what this meant, Dorothy dismissed it as a coincidence. What Frank was demonstrating was the rare musical gift of perfect pitch. They had no doubt that Frank's hearing problems would be resolved but a blessing of this magnitude was something for which they would always be proud. Throughout his boyhood years Frank had to deal with many other health issues, including the endurance of countless hormonal injections to repair a growth problem.

At age 13 Frank was overheard by his parents singing along with a Mario Lanza Christmas album. They asked him to sing it again and were shocked at the sound they heard. They realized that he did indeed have a wondrous voice and that vocal lessons should begin. Frank went on to cultivate his musical gifts. He performed while a student at South Philadelphia High School, went on to the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and later a full paid vocal scholarship from the dean of Temple University. After college Frank performed with the Greater Miami Opera Company and went on to win awards from the Metropolitan Opera Council, The Luciano Pavarotti International Competition, The Puccini Foundation, The Sergio Franchi Foundation, The Opera Florham and The Mario Lanza Institute Award. He performs today as a tenor soloist with Symphony and Pops Orchestra's. Accolades and standing ovations from his performances are commonplace.

Unfortunately, Frank's father and favorite uncle did not live long enough to attend his debut concert at the prestigious Academy of Music in Philadelphia with three-time grammy winning conductor and pianist Peter Nero and Philly Pops. But Frank believes they are there and all his performances in spirit.

Frank has travelled to Italy twice to visit the grave of Padre Pio to thank him for the blessings given to him. He lives his life believing that Padre Pio will always look after him, helping him to overcome any problems that come his way. It is because of God's healing through Padre Pio that he is here today bringing joy to others through his music.