St. Anthony Statue

Saint Anthony of Padua (ca. 1195 – June 13, 1231) also venerated as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, is a Catholic saint who was born in Lisbon, Portugal, as Ferdinand Martins de Bulhões to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.

Anthony was born in a very rich family who wanted him to become anoble; however these were not his wishes. His family arranged soundeducation for him at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes ofhis family, Anthony 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. Anthony studied Scripture and the Latin classics.Anthony was constantly visited by friends and relatives, bringingembarrassing gifts and news from their social world which disturbedhim. His studies were suffering and there he found no peace. Hepersuaded 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, Anthony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Anthony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscan friars. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Anthony meditated on the heroismof these Franciscans. He wanted to obey God's call to leave everythingand follow Him. Anthony obtained permission from his superiors to jointhe Franciscan order. In the summer of 1220 he was invested with theFranciscan 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. Heintended to die preaching the Gospel there. However, upon his arrivalin Morocco, he fell so ill he had no choice but to return home.

On the return trip to Portugal, his ship was driven by storm uponthe coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made hisway to Assisi and sought admission into a monastery in Italy, but metwith difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finallyassigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolonear Forlì, Romagna,Italy, a choice made after considering his poor health. There heappears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen.

One day, on the occasion of an ordination, when a great many visiting Dominicanmonks were present, there was some misunderstanding over who shouldpreach. The Franciscans naturally expected that one of the Dominicanswould occupy the pulpit, for they were renowned for their preaching;the Dominicans, on the other hand, had come unprepared, thinking that aFranciscan would be the homilist.

In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who had no one amonghis own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon Anthony,whom he suspected was most qualified, and instructed him to speakwhatever the Holy Spirit should put into his mouth. Anthony objectedbut was overruled, and his sermon created a deep impression. Not onlyhis rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substanceof his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of hishearers.

At that point, Anthony was commissioned by Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, to preach the Gospel throughout Lombardy,a region in northern Italy. From then on his skills were used to theutmost by the Church. Occasionally he took another post, as a teacher,for instance, at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse--both in southern France--but it was as a preacher that Anthony revealed his supreme gift.

In 1226, after attending the Franciscan chapter at Arles, France, and preaching in the French region of Provence, Anthony returned to Italy and served as envoy from the general chapter to Pope Gregory IX.At the papal court, his preaching was hailed as a "jewel case of theBible" and he was commissioned to produce "Sermons for Feast Days."

Anthony was elected minister provincial of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on 30 May; the friar, held out against the relaxation of Franciscan austerities. Anthony became ill with dropsy and, in 1231, went to the woodland retreat at Camposanpierowith two other friars for a respite. There Anthony lived in a cellbuilt for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Saint Anthony diedon 13 June 1231 at the Poor Clare convent at Arcella on the way back to Padua at the age of 36.

When he died, it is said that the children cried in the streets,that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord, and that angelscame to earth to ring the bells for the death of the saint. He isburied in a chapel (once a church, now enclosed by the current edifice)of the large Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua. The house where he was born in Lisbon was turned into a church, the Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa. St. Anthony also loved children.

[edit] Recognition

One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called "EvangelicalDoctor". He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost("Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. Something is lostand cannot be found.").

On January 27, 1907 in Beaumont, Texas,a church was dedicated and named in honor of St. Anthony of Padua. Thechurch was later designated a cathedral in 1966 with the formation ofthe Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont,but was not formally consecrated. On April 28, 1974, St AnthonyCathedral was dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Warren Boudreaux. In2006 Pope Benedict XVI granted St. Anthony Cathedral the designation of minor basilica. St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica celebrated its 100th anniversary on January 28, 2007.

Seventeenth century Spanish missionaries came across a small Native Americancommunity along what was then known as the Yanaguana River on the feastday of Saint Anthony and renamed the river and eventually a mission built nearbyin his honor. This mission would at first become the focal point of asmall community that would eventually grow in size and scope to becomethe city of San Antonio.