Saint Anthony of Padua: "everyone’s saint"

Summary:

Anthony was born Fernando de Bulloes y Taveira de Azevedo, in Lisbon, the future capital of Portugal, in 1195 (or 1190, according to forensic tests carried out on his mortal remains). "A boy of good character," according to his biographers, "he learned from his parents charity towards the poor, and mercy grew with him from childhood." Entrusted to the canons of the cathedral for his education and instruction, he did not give in to the pleasures of a city teeming with young people and entertaining places, populated by Teutonic and Breton crusaders attracted by the fresh air and sunshine, but applied himself to learn the principles of grammar and rhetorics. At the age of marriage, he chose to consecrate himself to God by joining the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, at the monastery of São Vicente de Fora (Lisbon), taught by masters who were experts in theology, logic and medicine.

After two years, he moved to the monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra (200 kilometers further north) and, in doing so, made it clear to everyone that this move was not just a change of place, but a change of life. These were the most fruitful years of his theological and spiritual formation. He searched the hidden meaning of the Scriptures and fortified his faith against errors; he learned wisdom and, in a short time, demonstrated such a knowledge of the Scriptures that his memory served him as a book. That was until some of Francis' poor friars knocked on the monastery door, asking for alms. On January 16, 1220, five of these brothers, sent by Francis to evangelize the Muslims in Morocco, were cruelly beheaded by the sultan. This event shook the spirit of Fernando, who, conceiving in his heart the project of also going to Morocco to give his life for Christ, prayed with these words: "Oh, if the Most High would deign to let me share the crown of these holy martyrs! If the executioner's sword could find me bending my neck, on my knees, for the name of Jesus!" One day, he confided to the Franciscan brothers his plan to don their habit, on condition that he be sent to proclaim Christ to the Saracens. He changed his name from Fernando to Anthony, and left for Morocco in early autumn. However, illness prevented him from fulfilling his dream, and in early spring he returned to Portugal. He was within sight of Spain when contrary winds drove the boat onto the coast of Sicily.

Welcomed by the friars of Messina (Sicily), he learned that the annual general chapter of the Order was to be held in Assisi (Umbria) at the end of May, for Pentecost 1221. Although he was still recovering from his illness and the shipwreck, he attended the gathering and heard Francis speak of the goods promised to those who serve the Lord. But when all the brothers returned to their communities, Anthony stayed there on his own, unknown to all, and discreet about his education and priestly status. Discovering that he was a priest, Brother Gratian, provincial of Romagna (Italy), then sent him to Montepaolo, in the hills above Forlí (Emilia-Romagna), where six brothers lived in a hermitage. There, for a year and a half, he lived in silence, prayed and, through fasting and penance, trained himself to discipline his senses. One day in September 1222, at a priestly ordination, the superior invited Brother Anthony to deliver the customary spiritual conference. The brother everyone assumed to be just good enough to do menial chores turned out to be an expert theologian, exegete, preacher and spiritual man! Brother Gratian immediately entrusted him with the task of preaching in Romagna, a region infested by the Cathar heresy. Shortly afterwards, Francis, seeing that Anthony knew how to combine science and humility, sent him to teach theology to the friars in Bologna, calling him "my bishop" - as the task of preaching and teaching was then reserved for bishops or "men proven by their qualities of life and doctrine".

In 1223, Pope Honorius III appealed to King of France Louis VIII to intervene in Languedoc, where "heretics were openly attacking the Church and ruining the Catholic faith". Anthony was therefore sent there to bring believers back to the faith and morals of the Gospel. He taught in Montpellier and Toulouse; in Limoges, he oversaw the communities of France, and served as superior of the monastery at Le Puy. Jean Rigaud, a Friar Minor from Limoges and later Bishop of Tréguier, left us an account of numerous miracles performed in Saint-Pierre-du-Queyroix, Saint-Junien, Solignac and Brive, in the Limousin region. The Brive caves, where Anthony led a solitary life, are now one of France's most popular places of pilgrimage and spirituality. In Provence and Languedoc, in Limousin and Velay, Anthony founded numerous convents of Friars Minor. The many conversions that took place in France and Italy through his zeal earned him the nickname of "the hammer of heretics". Returning to Italy, he attended the General Chapter of Pentecost in Rome in 1227 (after the death of St. Francis on October 3, 1226). There, Anthony was appointed Provincial of Northern Italy.

At the General Chapter held in Assisi for Pentecost 1230, during which he preached before the Pope who, impressed by his knowledge of the Bible, called him "the ark of the Testament" itself, Anthony was relieved from all his duties of governing the friars, and given permission to preach freely in any place of his choice. On this occasion, he settled in Padua (Veneto), in the convent of Santa Maria. He spent the winter of 1230-1231 editing his complete works, the Sermons for Sundays and Festivals of the Year, but had to stop at the beginning of February to devote himself entirely, for forty days, "with untiring zeal to preaching, teaching and the ministry of confession until sunset, very often while fasting". It was a time of exhausting activity, in the city's churches or in the open air, before an audience that sometimes exceeded 30,000 people of all ages and conditions, but very rich with "an abundant harvest for the Lord": the pacification of old grudges, the restitution of stolen property, the liberation of fathers held in prison until the debts of usury were exhausted, the conversion of notorious criminals, and so on.

Anthony knew in advance the day of his death and announced, from the top of a hill surrounding Padua, the honor the city would enjoy as a result of his merits. Exhausted and tormented by persistent dropsy, he had to retire to Camposampiero, some twenty kilometers north of Padua, to recover his health and rest his mind. On Friday, June 13 in the year of our Lord 1231, during a meal, he suffered a heart attack and asked to be taken back to his community in Padua. The journey, on an oxcart, was a difficult one. As he entered the city, a friar advised him to stop at the Cella monastery, where the brothers were providing spiritual assistance to the Poor Clares. It was here that Brother Anthony's soul, provided with the sacraments of the Church, after contemplating with his own eyes Jesus, his Lord ("I see my Lord, he calls me to him"), "was absorbed in the abyss of light".

Immediately, bands of children invaded the town, shouting "the holy father is dead; Saint Anthony is dead!", and the entire population mourned "the father of Padua, his guide and his coachman, who left a people of orphans". The many miracles he performed on the day of his burial soon gave rise to a movement in favor of his canonization, which was granted on May 30, 1232,by Pope Gregory IX, less than a year after his death. Plans were soon drawn up for the construction of a large basilica in Padua to welcome the many pilgrims and pay homage to him (1238-1310). Thirty-one years later, on April 8, 1263, Brother Bonaventure, Doctor of Theology and Minister General of the Order, proceeded with the canonical recognition of the saint's body and, with great emotion, discovered his tongue still fresh and intact. On January 16, 1946, the feast of the Five Martyrs of Morocco, Pius XII proclaimed St Anthony of Padua "Evangelical Doctor of the Church".

Beyond reasons to believe:

The veneration of Saint Anthony spread to the Far East and the New World from the Renaissance onwards, in the wake of the Portuguese explorers. Although popular devotion, which is very fervent throughout the world, often depicts the saint as a welcoming Franciscan who is called upon to find lost objects, it should not be forgotten that he is first and foremost a great theologian and contemplative.

Going further:

St. Anthony: The Wonder-Worker of Padua, by Charles Warren Stoddard (TAN Books; 2nd edition, January 1, 2009)

More information:

• Saint Anthony of Padua: His Life, Legends, and Devotions by Jack Wintz O.F.M. (Franciscan Media; April 4, 2012)
• Video The Life and miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
• Biographies, articles, writings and art