Antonio de Padua, also known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon (Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal, August 15, 1195 – Padua, June 13, 1231), was a priest of the Franciscan Order, Portuguese preacher and theologian, venerated as a saint and Doctor of the Church for Catholicism. Saint Anthony of paduaHe is considered the saint who helps to find lost objects, watches over marriages, intercedes to find a good partner, is the patron saint of bakers, sterile women, stationers, masons, travelers, the poor and protects children.
Anthony of Padua was the second saint most quickly canonized by the Church, after Saint Peter the Martyr of Verona. He is one of the most popular Catholic saints and his worship is universally spread. His feast day is celebrated on June 13.
His secular name was Fernando Martim de Bulhões e Taveira Azevedo, a name he changed to Antonio in 1220 when he entered the Order of Friars Minor.
In the papal curia, Antonio aroused in the cardinals and in Pope Gregory IX such admiration for his preaching that the pontiff “came to call him, with his very own epithet, “Ark of the Testament”” (Assidua 10, 2). His messages challenged the social vices of his time, especially avarice and the practice of usury.The Assidua points to this period—particularly the Lenten preaching of 1231—as one of the most notable in history. life of him Those last preachings had an outstanding popular success. Afflicted by continual illnesses, he persevered in teaching and hearing confessions until sunset, often fasting. The multitude of people who came from the cities and towns to listen to the daily sermons forced him to abandon the churches as preaching venues to do so in the open air.
Antonio fell ill with dropsy and, after Easter 1231, he retired to the town of Camposampiero, with two other friars, to rest and pray. There, Antonio lived in a cell built by himself under the branches of a walnut tree. Shortly after, he decided to return to Padua. Already in the vicinity, he stopped at the convent of the Poor Clares in Arcella, where he died prematurely on June 13, 1231, at the approximate age of 35 or 36 years.
Of the infinity of miracles of San Antonio we will mention 5:
The greatest thaumaturge of all time is credited with interceding on many occasions throughout his mortal life, and in his holy life as well. The frequency of his miracles has not been diminished on any occasion. These are some of his many miracles and probably the best known:
The visit of the Child Jesus
We see the saint almost always represented with the Child Jesus, and this is because when he was still a young friar he was praying alone in a room where he was staying for a period of rest, and the owner, sneaking peeking through a window, He saw that the friar had a beautiful child in his arms, whom he was hugging and kissing with intense contemplation. The man, stunned and ecstatic by the beauty of that child, wondered where he had come from and the Child Jesus himself revealed to Antonio that the guest was watching him. After a long prayer, the vision disappeared, the saint called the man and forbade him to tell what he had seen. With this act of tenderness, Jesus demonstrated his love for his good and faithful servant.
The mule knelt before the Eucharist
Saint Anthony of Padua, in an argument with a heretic, was challenged to prove the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. To do this, they fasted a mule so that when they went to free it, it would choose between food and worshiping Jesus. When the time came, the animal put aside the hay to bow in the presence of God, which left the crowd impressed.
storm roof
The popularity of his preaching attracted large numbers of followers, so on one occasion, the church where they were was not enough for everyone, so they decided to hold it outdoors. Suddenly, the sky threatened with a terrible storm that began to scare away the parishioners, but the saint called them and promised them that they would not get wet, and so, indeed, the storm fell around them, keeping everyone present dry.
Preaching to the fish
On one occasion, when a group of people prevented the people from attending his sermons, Saint Anthony went to the seashore and began to shout: “Hear the word of God, you fish of the sea, since the sinners of the Earth does not want to listen to it”. As he spoke, the fish began to join and approach him, sticking their heads out of the water to listen attentively to the words of the friar who invited them to praise God, creator of the water in which they found their food and lived in serenity.
The talking newborn
In Ferrara there was a gentleman extremely jealous of his wife, who possessed an innate grace and sweetness. Getting pregnant by her, he unjustly accused her of adultery and after her child was born, who had her rather dark complexion, her husband became even more convinced that she had betrayed her. At the baptism of the child, while the procession was heading to the church with the father, relatives and friends, Antonio passed by them and, knowing the man’s accusations, gave the child the name of Jesus. Asked who his father was, the little boy, only a few days old, pointed his finger at his father and then, in a clear voice, said: “This is my father!”
The traditional bread of San Antonio
San Antonio de Padua / Historic Temple of San Francisco Guatemala.
The Rector of the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua in Italy, Fr. Oliviero Svanera, explained the origin of the traditional Saint Anthony bread that is delivered in many parts of the world every June 13, the day on which the Church celebrates the great saint.
In some towns of Guatemala that bear the name of the Saint of Padua, there is still such an old tradition and it is given away in traditional San Antonio bread in churches and bakeries, in the capital particularly in the Church of San Francisco, even the friars, They distribute bread to the poor.
Fr. Svanera pointed out that “St. Anthony’s bread is synonymous with charity. The birth of this tradition dates back to one of the miracles of the saint which had as its protagonist Tomasito, a 20-month-old boy who drowned in a water well.
The tradition starts from the following: “A desperate mother invoked the help of the saint and made a promise: if she obtained the grace she would give the poor the same weight in bread as the weight of the child. And the little boy miraculously came back to life.”
“Oh blessed Saint Anthony, the gentlest of all saints, your love for God and your charity for his creatures made you worthy, when you were here on earth, of possessing miraculous powers. Please intervene for me. Whisper my request to the Child Jesus, who loved to be held in your arms…
(Mention your request)
Oh San Antonio, saint of miracles, whose heart was full of compassion, please hear my prayer and forever have my gratitude. Amen.”
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