St. Anthony of Padua

by John O’Connell

Devotion to St. Anthony as the patron saint of lost objects stems from one of the legends about St. Anthony. It is probable that the kernel of the legend is true. The story sans the embellishments of legend is this: a novice fled from the Monastery stealing Anthony’s psalter (an extremely valuable object since it was before the advent of the printing press and most likely included Anthony’s comments written in the margins that he would use for his lectures on Scripture to his brethren). After he discovered that the psalter was missing, Anthony prayed fervently that he would find it. As a result of his prayer, the wayward novice returned to the Mon as tery and not only returned Anthony’s missing psalter but more remarkable the repentant novice found the vocation he had lost and returned to religious life.

Unfortunately, for many Catho lics, St. Anthony’s mission as the patron of finding lost things is as far as their knowledge of this great friend of Christ extends.

Anthony’s name remains forever linked with the Italian town of Padua were he exercised his priestly ministry and his body is interred. How ever, Anthony was not Italian, rather he was born in Lisbon in 1195, the son of Portuguese nobility. That is why besides being the patron saint of lost articles, Anthony is the patron saint of Portugal (and also of the poor and of harvests). His baptismal name is Fer dinand; he took the name of Anthony when he entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans).

At an early age Anthony entered the Canons Reg u lar of St. Augustine. To avoid the distractions of numerous visits by family and friends, he sought and obtained a transfer to the Holy Cross Monastery in Coïm bra. Anthony became a priest as a Canon of St. Augustine. In 1220, Don Pedro of Portugal brought to Coïmbra for public veneration the relics of some Franciscans who had recently received the crown of martyrdom in Morocco. The sight of the martyr’s relics and the story of their heroic witness to Christ inflamed Anthony’s zeal, enkindling in him the desire for martyrdom. He determined to go to North Africa as a Franciscan to receive the grace of martyrdom.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, An thony, after some difficulty, entered the Order of Friars Minor in 1221. Shortly thereafter, Fra Antony left for Morocco to preach the Gospel. Anthony though became seriously ill shortly after he landed in Morocco. Therefore, he soon took a ship bound for Portugal but a storm blew the ship off course, landing the vessel in Sicily. This Providential detour enabled Anthony to participate in the General Chapter of the Friars Minor at Assisi. St. Francis himself attended this chapter. At the convocation the Pro vincial of Romagna agreed to assign Anthony to the hermitage of Monte Paolo near Forli, Italy.

Several years later Divine Providence revealed Anthony’s gift for preaching. Anthony and another friar went to Forli to attend an ordination and the priest assigned to preach the ordination homily failed to show. Somehow Anthony was pressed into giving the sermon and he did so with spectacular effect. Afterwards Anthony’s superiors sent him to Lan gue doc to preach against the Albigensian heresy. Later Anthony was sent to Italy to convert the Wal den sians.

Anthony gained remarkable renown as a preacher. When he came to a town, the whole town would close down to hear the great and holy Fra Antony preach. The crowds were so great that he was obliged to preach in fields or public squares. During his life, Anthony gained fame for working prodigious miracles (although his greatest miracles were leading hardened sinners to conversion, sacramental Confession, and repentance). Many priests accompanied Anthony when he preached so that they (along with Anthony) could hear the confessions of repentant sinners.

He was fearless in combating error. Anthony earned the moniker that he shares with several other saints, “The Hammer of Heretics.” Nor did he spare from rebuke in his sermons wayward priests and bishops.

Anthony possessed a prodigious memory, which combined with his saintly insight into Scripture, made him a remarkable teacher of the Bible. Anthony was the first Franciscan appointed lector in theology to teach his brethren.

Anthony, as one would expect, is a model of vir tue, especially holy purity. That is why in art he is usually depicted with a lily—the symbol of holy purity. Anthony is also almost always depicted as holding the Infant Jesus because tradition relates that Anthony received a vision of the Infant Jesus and because of his sanctity was permitted to hold Him and receive His kiss. He is also shown holding a book for the Bible or a torch symbolizing the light that Anthony provided through his preaching and teaching.

Faithful to the Franciscan charism and the Gospel imperative, Anthony was solicitous for the poor. But the tradition of St. Anthony’s bread, giving loaves of bread to the poor on St. Anthony’s feast day, did not begin until the 19^th century. A baker whose shop’s lock would not open promised St. Anthony that if she could open the lock she would donate bread for the poor. Immediately, the key in the lock worked.

In the spring of 1231, the year of his death, Anthony having grown ill and worn down by his apostolic la bors retired to a Franciscan hermitage. On the morning of June 13, Anthony felt extremely ill and realizing that he was close to death asked that he might leave so as not to disturb his fellow hermits. Despite the protestations of the hermits, Anthony left in an oxcart for Pa dua. He stopped in Arcella to rest, where after sing ing a Marian hymn, receiving Extreme Unction, and reciting the seven penitential psalms with his brethren he entered into eternity.

After Anthony’s death, the children of Arcella ran through the streets calling out that the saint is dead. The Franciscans from Padua had to use their ingenuity to transport the body to Padua and away from the armed townsmen of Arcella who did not want to lose this precious relic.

The body had not yet been buried when miracles attributed to Anthony’s intercession began to be reported. Pope Gregory IX, who had known Anthony, canonized him on May 30, 1232—less than two years after his death. In 1946 Pope Pius XII declared Anthony a Doctor of the Church, Doctor Evangelicus.

In 1263, Anthony’s remains were disinterred so they could be placed in a new basilica built for that purpose. It was found that his body had disintegrated except for his tongue which had remained uncorrupt. The tongue is still preserved in a reliquary—a testament to the eloquence of Anthony in service to the Divine Majesty.