Thousands of pilgrims flocked to a small Italian village on Thursday to see the body of Padre Pio, a revered mystic monk whose body was exhumed to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.

The Italian saint is a cult figure for millions around the world as many Christians believe had permanent sores on his hands similar to the stigmata, or the wounds of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the Vatican's "minister" of saints, held a special mass to mark the start of the nine months during which pilgrims will be able to view Padre Pio's exhumed body in a crystal coffin.

The mass was held in the square outside the Saint Maria of Grace church where the body is to go on display.

A solemn procession of Capuchin monks and bishops in white liturgical vestments preceded the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, wearing a golden mitre and carrying a gold cross.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to view the body over the nine months, even though Padre Pio remains a controversial figure.

Responding to scepticism over the purported stigmata, Pope John XXIII ordered a medical investigation in 1960, and his successor Paul VI rejected the doubts four years later.

Hundreds of pilgrims, most arriving in coaches, had been outside the church since early Thursday.

Elena Fonte (69), from the Aosta Valley in northwest Italy, said her family drove all night to attend the event. "We worship Padre Pio, that's all there is to it."

Maurizio Proietti told AFP he and his wife survived a serious car accident 28 years ago thanks to Padre Pio. "I didn't even know who he was, but at the restaurant where we had eaten a man gave us a picture of Padre Pio."

In the throng, a small group could be seen holding up a banner marked "Gdansk," the Polish port city that was home to Pope John Paul II, who canonised Padre Pio in 2004.

More than 75 000 people from around the world have already booked visits for the display of the body, the Capuchin Order said in a communique.

It will lie in the crypt of Saint Maria of Grace, rather than the enormous San Pio di Pietralcina, designed by the celebrated architect Renzo Piano and consecrated in 2004 with a capacity for 7000 worshippers.

The new church, considered too lofty for the simple saint and shunned by the cult surrounding him, has seen little use.

A picture of the bearded monk, more popular in Italy than any pope, can be seen across the country in homes as well as shops, restaurants and on taxi dashboards.

While the popular cult focuses on the stigmata, the Church hierarchy stresses the monk's good works including a hospital that dominates the village along with the dozens of hotels and religious souvenir shops.

Padre Pio's run-ins with the Vatican fueled rather than dampened the personality cult that surrounded him.

After his death on 23 September 1968, Padre Pio achieved sainthood in record time thanks to John Paul II, who beatified him in 1999 and canonised him in 2002.

Padre Pio's body was exhumed in March to allow experts to prepare the body.

Bishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, who presided over the opening of the coffin, said the saint's hands appeared "as smooth as if they had just been manicured." The wounds were said to have disappeared upon Padre Pio's death.

Some faithful had tried legal means to prevent the exhumation, which they considered a sacrilege; they also fear that the body will be transferred to the new church designed by Piano.

AFP