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Anthony Biography
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"I'll put St. Anthony in the window," my grandmother
would say, when my brother couldn't find his wallet, picking
up a faded and chipped statue of the saint holding the child
Jesus in his left arm. "St. Anthony, St. Anthony please
come around; something is lost that cannot be found,"
she would chant under her breath. And so it went every time
someone in our house couldn't find something. Once the object
was located, my Grandmother would pursue the one who had
benefited from St. Anthony's intercession, shaking her finger,
" Now don't forget to give five dollars in his name!"
The Catholic saint, Anthony of Padua, also venerated as
Saint Anthony of Lisbon, was born in Lisbon, Portugal, which
was then a part of Spain, in 1195 A.D., and named Fernando
de Bulhoes. He is one of the most beloved Catholic saints
today, and he was much loved even in his own time. Saint
Anthony's physical appearance was unremarkable; he was short
and slightly plump, but everyone who heard him speak was
drawn to him. St. Anthony was known to have a winning smile,
a loud voice and a prodigious memory. His fervent faith
must have been apparent from a young age, for by fifteen,
he had entered the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent at Lisbon
against his well-to-do family's wishes.
Then, in 1219, St. Anthony had a portentous meeting with
five Franciscans who were on their way to preach to the
Muslims in Morocco. The friars were martyred during their
mission, and their mutilated bodies brought back to Spain
where they were carried in solemn procession. St. Anthony
was apparently very moved by the Franciscans' sacrifice
and their simple lifestyle. He asked his order for permission
to join the Franciscans, and in the summer of 1220, received
his habit. He took the name Anthony, after St. Anthony the
Great.
Saint Anthony greatly desired to follow in the footsteps
of the five Franciscans who had so affected him, and preach
in Morocco, but ill health forced him to return soon after
his arrival there. However, his homebound ship was never
to reach Spain; a storm forced it to land instead on the
coast of Italy. Franciscans there had pity on the ailing
Anthony and assigned him to the rural hospice of San Paolo
outside of Bologna. In that location, St. Anthony lived
as a hermit and worked in the kitchen, his educated background
either unknown or ignored.
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The hermitage was, in time, visited by a gathering of Dominicans.
As that order was known for its preaching, the Franciscans
did not prepare a homily themselves. When it was found that
the Dominicans had expected their hosts to provide a preacher,
the head of the hermitage, in desperation, called upon Anthony
to speak some simple words from his heart. The friars were
probably hoping at most for a minimal amount of embarrassment
in front of the more learned Dominicans. Instead, the whole
company was awestruck by the brilliant words emanating from
the mouth of St. Anthony. It was the beginning of his fame
as a preacher. St. Francis himself learned of St. Anthony's
extraordinary speaking abilities and sent Anthony a note
exhorting him to preach to the other Franciscans.
In 1226 the Franciscans chose St. Anthony as an envoy to
Pope Gregory IX from the general chapter, and on May 30,
1227 he was elected minister provincial of part of Italy.
St. Anthony humbly served as directed but in June of 1230
he asked for release from his duties in order to devote
himself to preaching. His request was granted, and from
then on, St. Anthony resided in the monastery at Padua where
he wrote, among other things, his famous sermons on the
saints.
The beloved preacher became ill with dropsy in 1231 and
on June 13, now his feast day, he died at the Poor Clare
convent in Arcella at the young age of 36. Legend has it
that children cried and angels rang bells when St. Anthony
died. His body was buried in a chapel, which is now enclosed
by the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua. In 1263, when his
relics were transferred to the Basilica, his tongue was
found to be still fresh and red in color. Saint Anthony's
was the second fastest canonization in history; he was declared
a saint 352 days after his death, by the same Pope Gregory
he had met in life.
Join us on
St. Anthony's
Feast Day
Quotes of St.
ANthony of Padua
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