The Franciscan family, along with the entire Church, remembers today, June 13, one of St. Francis' brightest sons and one of the world's most beloved saints, St. Anthony of Padua.
He was born in Lisbon in 1195 and was baptized with the name Fernando.
He dedicated himself to God in the Order of Regular Canons of St. Augustine in the monastery of Coimbra, studied Sacred Scripture for nine years and was ordained a priest. During those years, St. Francis sent to Morocco the first missionary brothers who were martyred in 1220: the Franciscan First Martyrs Berarda, Otton, Pietro, Accursius and Adiuta. Of them Francis said: "Now I can say that I have five real Friars Minor." Their remains returned to Italy through what is now Portugal and visited briefly the Friars Minor of Coimbra. The young Canon Fernando, at the sight of these martyrs whom he went to honor, had a passionate desire to die for the proclamation of the Gospel as they had died, and received permission to join the Order of Friars Minor, taking the name Anthony.
After becoming a missionary, Anthony traveled to the Saracens, but a storm carried the ship away from African shores to Sicily. So, he traveled across the peninsula to reach Assisi, where he met Francis during the famous "Capitulum of the Horns" in 1221. No one took notice of Anthony, and the Provincial Minister of Romagna sent him to the hermitage of Monte Paolo, where he spent a life of prayer, service, and penance. At the priestly ordination, however, the preacher was suddenly absent and the humble Anthony was asked to fill in, thus all his eloquence and biblical training were revealed! He was given the task of preaching, and with the permission of Francis himself, of whom a note is preserved, was the first of the Friars Minor who could teach theology at the University of Bologna. From that time he traveled through all northern Italy and southern France proclaiming the Word of God. His preaching was also confirmed by miracles. Determinedly he fought heretics and tyrants, defending the poor.
Anthony died in Padua when he was only 36 years old, on June 13, 1231, and Gregory IX consecrated him a few months after his death. A famous basilica was built in his honor in Padua, which became a destination for thousands upon thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. Pius XII confirmed his doctrine by declaring him "Doctor (Teacher) of the Church" with the title "Evangelicus". From him we are left the "Sermones" ("Sermons"). The biography of the Saint, as devotees simply call him, teaches us to rely with such obedience on the will of the Lord, who, at the right moment, opens our talents and allows them to bear fruit for the spread of His Kingdom.
St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us.
