ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA

The altar of St. Anthony in my house

St. Anthony of Padua (or Lisbon) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and a Franciscan friar. His original name was Fernando de Bulhoes and he was born on 15 August 1195 to a wealthy and socially prominent family in Lisbon, Portugal. He received his education at the Cathedral School of Saint Mary near his home and entered the Augustinian Abbey at the age of 15. Fernando was gifted with an excellent memory and had the capability to understand and synthesize complex theological matters. He studied theology and Latin at the Holy Cross Monastery in Coimbra and became a friar of the Franciscan order in 1220, taking the name Anthony in honor of St. Anthony the Great and was later sent as a missionary preacher to Italy. He also taught theology in several universities in Italy and France. Because of his vision of the young Jesus in 1231, he is usually shown in pictures and statues with the Christ child.

Stout and overweight, it seemed improbable that Anthony could radiate holiness. However, when people heard him preach, they were impressed by his eloquent words and filled with the wonders of his faith. He was so full of goodness and so well-known that many cities and towns in Europe competed for his presence. Many miracles have also been attributed to this popular saint. Those who wish to find lost or stolen articles pray to St. Anthony. It is said that a novice at his monastery decided to leave the community and he took Anthony's psalter with him. When the saint prayed for its return, the psalter thief was moved to return the psalter to Anthony and rejoined the order.

Anthony once traveled as a guest preacher to Rimini, a city on the Adriatic Coast, in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. A merchant named Bonillo, one of the town's most outspoken and notoriously known citizens, mocked and ridiculed the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence, which states that the consecrated Host is truly the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Anthony tried to make Bonillo understand that the Real Presence was not a fable but the saint's arguments failed to convince Bonillo.

Several days later, Anthony carried the Blessed Sacrament through the streets in a solemn procession. All those who were present, except Bonillo, knelt when the Host passed. The heretic was busy feeding his donkey and ignored the procession that passed his way. However, as St. Anthony and the Blessed Sacrament was approaching him, Bonillo's donkey went down on its knees and bowed its head to the ground. Bonillo was converted on the very spot by his donkey's miraculous act of adoration. Because of the Eucharistic miracle of Rimini, St. Anthony of Padua is known as the protector of donkeys, mules, and asses.

Anthony once travelled to the city of Rimini to preach to a community of heretics. When they refused to listen to him, ignored him and derided him, Anthony walked to the banks of the Brenta River and began to address the fish in the river. He was such a powerful preacher that thousands of fish swam to the surface of the water and arranged themselves neatly in rows to listen to him.

While Anthony was traveling with a fellow Franciscan, a poor woman invited them to spend the night at her house. Her one and only luxury was a small barrel of wine, and her precious possessions were two glass wine goblets. To celebrate the occasion, the woman brought out her wine glasses and filled them with wine. Anthony's companion accidentally dropped and broke his glass. In her haste to serve them, the poor woman did not realize that she has forgotten to turn off the tap to the wine barrel. Seeing how distressed she was, Anthony began to pray, and to the astonishment of the woman, the wineglass was put back together and made whole, the tap turned off, and the empty barrel was filled anew with wine right up to the brim.

One day, a young man of Padua, named Leonardo, had a nasty argument with his mother and kicked her in a fit of anger and frustration. Feeling repentant, he immediately went to the church where St. Anthony was hearing confessions and confessed what he had done to his mother. "The foot that strikes your mother deserves to be cut off," muttered Anthony. Even though he did not intend his words to be taken literally, the young man ran home, grabbed a hatchet, and chopped off his own foot. When Anthony found out what Leonardo had done, he went to Leonardo's bedroom, held the severed foot close to the leg and prayed, and almost instantly the foot was miraculously reattached to the leg. That is why St. Anthony is also known as the patron of amputees. 

Anthony died from edema in the suburb of Arcella on his way to Padua in 1231, at the age of 35, and was buried in Santa Maria Mater Domini, a church in Santa Croce in Venice, Italy. He was made a saint on 30 May 1932 in Spoleto (a city in Italy) by Pope Gregory IX. When his body was exhumed to be reburied in a new basilica in 1263, it was discovered that his tongue remained incorrupt and looked like it was still alive even though his body had completely decomposed. On 16 January 1946, he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. 

St. Anthony is the patron saint for both Padua and Portugal and his feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church on 13 June, which was the day of his death. Today, St. Anthony's holy tongue and his jaw bone are displayed in special gold reliquaries in the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua in northern Italy. The rest of his remains have been transferred to a tomb in a separate chapel, the Chapel of St. Anthony.

You may also like to read Prayer to St. Anthony and the Miraculous Letter Delivery. To view the content page of this blog, please click here.

Bibliography:

1. Paul, Tessa. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Saints. Hermes House.
2. Craughwell, Thomas J. (2016). Heaven Help Us. Chartwell Books.