Monday, June 13th, was the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua and so I wanted to write this post about his life to help better explain why he is considered one of the most powerful saints and is revered by so many around the world. Numerous churches dedicated to him can be found all across the globe and it's not hard to see why once you understand his life.
To read about the feast day celebrations, click HERE!
St. Anthony was born as Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal to a wealthy family in 1195. By the young age of fifteen, Martins entered the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, Portugal (which was the capital at the time). Once ordained a priest, he learned of a hermitage founded by Franciscan friars dedicated to St. Anthony of Egypt, triggering a desire to join them. He left the Abbey and joined the Franciscan order, changing his name to Anthony.
Two Franciscan friars visiting the shrine from Pakistan-just goes to show how far reaching St. Anthony's cause was! St. Anthony left his wealth and comfort and replaced it for robes similar to these along with a life of simplicity and humility.
Anthony then began traveling and went to Morocco. After some time doing God's work, Anthony fell sick, forcing him to return to Portugal to recuperate. But fate took its turn and the ship was blown off course, arriving in Sicily instead. From there they travelled on to Tuscany, where Anthony was assigned to the hermitage of Monte Paolo.
This may have seemed like a step in the wrong direction at the time, but God had his plan already in motion. While attending an ordination ceremony of Franciscan and Dominican friars, confusion arose about who would deliver the homily. Not able to find anyone else, the Franciscans asked Anthony to speak about whatever the Holy Spirit brought to him, believing that Anthony only knew how to read the Breviary and Missal. To their great surprise, he delivered such a beautiful and well-said homily that news of his eloquent speaking launched his teaching career and eventually reached St. Francis of Assisi.
In 1224, Anthony was put in charge of teaching the friars by Francis and he kept his notes and comments in his book of psalms. But this is where the story gets interesting. When a young novice decided to leave the hermitage, he took Anthony's book of psalms along with him. When he learned it was missing, Anthony prayed that he would find it or it would be returned. Anthony's prayers were answered and the novice returned the book. Better yet, he also returned to the Order. Today, this book is safely kept in the Franciscan friary in Bologna, Italy.
From "The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi," 147
There are numerous stories of St. Anthony and his miracles, earning Anthony the name, "Miracle Worker". One of my favorites is of Anthony's time in a place called Rimini. Rimini contained many heretics and Anthony went to preach the word of God and bring people to conversion. He preached and spoke to the heretics but they ignored him and his words, refusing to listen to him. Encouraged by God he went to the sea shore and began talking to the fish saying, "Listen to the word of God, O ye fishes of the sea and of the river, seeing that the faithless heretics refuse to do so." The fish gathered in multitudes, poking their head out of the water as though paying attention to the sound of Anthony's voice. Once the heretics saw this, they realized that Anthony was sent by God and his words were powerful. Anthony spoke so well that he converted those heretics, who had found solace in his words and in the Catholic faith.
Anthony was a great preacher and was well known for it. His words were so simple and yet so strong that his message could get through to anyone- poor and rich, young and old - and was able to spread the word of God and convert people like no other. Eventually Anthony became a Doctor of the Church and later became a saint. Many years since his death, St. Anthony, continues to be one of the most famous saints and has helped millions of people around the world and continues to do so. As a result his feast day is one of the most widely celebrated feast days.