Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/June 13 2007

Saint Anthony of Padua, also venerated as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal as Fernando de Bulhões to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy. Today he is one of the most famous saints and is often called upon by Catholics to help find lost possessions. Anthony was born into a wealthy family. They wanted him to become a great noble, but he had other plans.

His family arranged sound education for him at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, Fernando entered the Augustinian Abbey of St.Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St Augustine, of which he was now a member, were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits. Fernando studied Scripture and the Latin masters. Fernando was constantly visited by friends and relatives, bringing embarrassing gifts and news from their social world which disturbed him. His studies were suffering and there he found no peace. He persuaded his superiors to transfer him to the Augustinian Santa Cruz Monastery (Abbey of the Holy Cross) in Coimbra, then the capital of Portugal, and continued his studies.

After his ordination, Fernando was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Fernando meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans, and he longed to embrace the simple lifestyle of the Franciscans. He wanted the freedom of a charismatic and joy-filled response to God's call to leave everything and follow Him. Fernando obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order. In the summer of 1220 he was invested with the Franciscan habit and began to learn the teachings of their founder, Francis of Assisi. He took the new name of Anthony when he joined the Order of Friars Minor in honor of Saint Anthony the Great, to whom the Franciscan hermitage where he was living was dedicated.

Shortly after, Anthony set off to Morocco with another friar. He intended to die preaching the Gospel there. He is said to have been an eloquent preacher with a loud and clear voice, a winning smile, a wonderful memory, and profound learning. With the zeal of an apostle he undertook to reform the morality of his time by specifically combating the vices of luxury, avarice, and tyranny. He taught theology and won a great reputation throughout Italy as a preacher. One night, the Divine Child came to visit Anthony. He kissed the saint gently and told him how much He loved him. Anthony died at the convent of the "Arcella", near Padua, on 13 June 1231.

Attributes: book; bread; Infant Jesus; lily

Patronage:animals; asses; barrenness; Brazil; Beaumont, Texas; elderly people; faith in the Blessed Sacrament; Ferrazzano, Italy; fishermen; Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; harvests; horses; Lisbon; lost articles; lower animals; mail; mariners; American Indians; Masbate, Philippines; Cavite, Philippines; oppressed people; Padua, Italy; poor people; Portugal; pregnant women; sailors; seekers of lost articles; shipwrecks; starvation;sterility; swineherds; Tigua Indians; travel hostesses; travellers; watermen