Padre Pio felt a fascination for the Ave Maria! One witness says: "We always saw him with his rosary in his hand, in the friary, in the halls, on the stairs, in the sacristy, in Church, even in the brief interval when going to and coming from the confessional. A follower asked him, 'Teach me a prayer that is most pleasing to the Blessed Mother.' And Padre Pio without hesitation answered him, 'And is there one more beautiful or more pleasing than the one she taught us herself? More beautiful than the Rosary? Always say the Rosary.' He would say, 'The Rosary is a weapon in our hands.' One evening before going to bed, he realized he had forgotten his rosary. He asked one of his brothers, 'Go get my weapon.' The brother did not understand, so he added, 'The rosary, that is my weapon.'" Another witness adds, "Near the end of his life he didn't talk much. We told him our thoughts, we asked him for help but all he did was to show us the rosary, always the rosary."
-from the book "Padre Pio The Wonder Worker" page 68
