St. Anthony of Padua

Their story

Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195 and baptized Fernando. As a young man he joined the Augustinian canons and became a serious student of Scripture. In 1220 the bodies of five Franciscan friars who had been martyred in Morocco were brought through his city. Moved by their courage, Fernando joined the Franciscans, took the name Anthony and set out for Morocco, hoping to preach and perhaps to die for Christ. But he fell seriously ill, and on the voyage home his ship was blown off course to Sicily. Anthony ended up in a small hermitage in Italy, where no one knew of his gifts. One day, at an ordination, no one had been chosen to preach, and Anthony was told to say whatever the Holy Spirit gave him. His sermon astonished everyone. From then on he preached throughout Italy and France, drawing enormous crowds and calling people back to God. St. Francis asked him to teach theology to the friars. A famous story tells that when the people of Rimini refused to listen, Anthony went to the shore and preached to the fish, which lifted their heads out of the water to hear him. Anthony settled in Padua, where he preached his last great series of sermons. He died on June 13, 1231, at only 36, and he was canonized less than a year later. He is a Doctor of the Church. He is widely invoked to help find lost things, and many parishes collect "St. Anthony's bread" for the poor in his honor.