Padre Pio's shrine has become a bigger attraction than Lourdes now that the saint's body has been put on show, according to an Italian business magazine.
The recent unveiling of the Franciscan friar's body will spark a nine-fold surge in the number of visitors to the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, Economy reports in its latest edition.
The forecast nine million total will make the town near Foggia the world's second most popular destination for religious tourists behind the Vatican, Economy said.
Lourdes will drop to third spot with its usual annual figure of eight million visitors.
The magazine put the annual turnover of the Padre Pio shrine at some 120 million euros including revenue from souvenirs, two periodicals and a satellite TV station - plus pilgrims' offerings.
Padre Pio, the monk known for Crucifixion-like marks on his hands, was initially scheduled to remain on show for just a couple of months after his body was unveiled two weeks ago.
But the period was extended due to demands from millions of admirers.
Padre Pio will now remain in his glass-sided coffin until September 2009 to give pilgrims a chance to see and venerate his remains for the first time since he died 40 years ago.
Thousands of people flocked to see the body on April 24 as Italian state broadcaster RAI's first channel, RAI Uno, beamed the event live across the country.
Almost 100 journalists from the international press covered the unveiling.
Padre Pio's body was exhumed by Capuchin friars in March in surprisingly good condition with the saint's beard, nails, knees and hands clearly visible.
The body is now mainly hidden from view under a monk's habit, shoes and a lifelike silicon mask of the saint's face made by London-based specialist company Gems Studio.
The body will be returned next September to the crypt of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church in San Giovanni Rotondo, next to the friary where Padre Pio lived for most of his life.
The saint's massive worldwide following is said to include many famous names, including Sophia Loren, the late writer Graham Greene, Republic of Ireland football player Damien Duff (who reportedly played with a relic of the saint in one of his boots) and Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of European Champions AC Milan, who prays to the saint during matches.
A Catholic magazine once found that far more Italian Catholics pray to the Padre Pio than to Jesus or Mary.
The saint, whose real name was Francesco Forgione, was born in 1887 and died in 1968. His devotees believe he bore the wounds of the crucified Christ on his hands, feet and side for at least 50 years.
By the time of his death, he was credited by his fellow friars with having performed more than a thousand miraculous cures and other miracles - one of them for the future Pope John Paul II.
The late pope was the driving force behind his canonisation, which took place in record time in 2002.
This officially made him San Pio, but almost everyone still uses his former name.
Other alleged gifts were the ability to be in two places at the same time and emit the scent of fresh flowers.
Forgione was shunned by church officialdom for much of his life amid suspicions of fraud and even accusations of impropriety with female followers.
He was only belatedly recognised, largely because of his towering stature among the faithful.
However, even after his death there have been accusations that he was a fraud.
A new book suggested last year that he may have used carbolic acid to create his Christ-like wounds.
