The Life of St. Anthony Of Padua

Feast Day: January 17th

The Years In Portugal

St. Anthony was born in Portugal in 1195; on 15th August according to Baroque tradition. He was the son of the nobleman, Martino de Buglioni and Donna Maria Taveira, who lived a few metres away from the cathedral. He was christened with the nameFernando.

He spent his formative years under the cultured guidance of the canons of the cathedral. Many of his school companions were boys who were considering the priesthood as a career. It is likely that young Fernando's commitment to join the priesthood was born among his close friends.

In fact, the moral mediocrity and corruption of the society around him convinced Anthony to choose this path.
He entered the Augustinian monastery of St. Vincent, outside the walls of Lisbon, where he lived uncompromisingly according to his evangelical ideal.

Among the Augustinians

He stayed at St. Vincent for approximately two years. But, distracted by continuous visits from friends, he asked to be transferred elsewhere. He thus undertook his first great journey toCoimbra, then the capital of Portugal. The new monastery of Santa Cruz was about 230 km from Lisbon.

He was seventeen years old and was to live in this monastery of nearly 70 members for eight years from 1212 to 1220.

These were very important years in the young saint's humanistic and intellectual development. He was surrounded with good teachers and a vast, up-to-date library.

Fernando completely dedicated himself to the study of human and theological sciences in an attempt to remove himself from the tensions in the community. The years in Coimbra left a deep mark on the future apostle's personality and existential development.

Moreover, he already began to show signs of his solitary nature. He was a manindifferent to outward appearances and ostentations of any kind, without social ambitions or a desire to be seen in public, unless spurred on by the duty of spreading the Gospel. When it was time to leave Coimbra, he had become a man of mature stature.

His theological training, based on a solid biblical and patristic tradition, had been firmly ingrained.

The Franciscan Choice  Witness of blood Towards the end of the summer of 1220, Fernando requested and obtained permission to leave the Canons Regular of St. Augustine to embrace the Franciscan way of life. Although it is not certain whether he had personally met the first Franciscans to arrive in the Iberian Peninsula, he had certainly heard about them and found their way of life appealing. At that time, the mortal remains of several Franciscans, who had been martyredfor their faith in Morocco, had been placed in two silver chests and transported by Prince Pedro and his retinue to Ceuta. They were then transferred to Algeciras, then to Seville and finally to Coimbra, where they were laid to rest in the Augustinian Church of Santa Cruz. The deeds of the martyrs were written down and miracles were spoken of, which increased devotion to Franciscanism among the local people. Fernando's request to join the followers of Francis of Assisi stemmed from a strong vocation to missionary life and, in particular, from his desire for martyrdom in imitation of these friars. Anthony the missionary In September 1220, Fernando removed the white tunic of the Augustinians and was invested in the coarse habit of the Friars Minor. He abandoned his baptismal name for that ofAnthony, the Egyptian hermit, after whom the Franciscan Hermitage of St. Anthony dos Olivais was named. After a brief period of study of the Franciscan Rule, Anthony was sent to Morocco The itinerary he followed is unknown. It is very likely that Anthony was accompanied by another friar, a standard Franciscan practice, however, this man too is unknown to us. Having arrived in the territory of the Miramolino, in Marrakech, it is said that Anthony was welcomed as a guest into the home of a resident Christian family. To communicate with the Muslims, Anthony may have spoken Arabic, not so surprising as he had grown up in bilingual Lisbon, or he may have relied on the linguistic abilities of this companion. However, because of an undetermined tropical illness, Anthony was unable to fulfil his mission preaching of the Gospel to the Muslims. The illness was so severe that, while not giving up his aim of martyrdom, he wasobliged to leave Morocco and to return home to Portugal. But fate was again to play a part, when a storm and unfavourable winds carried the ship off course to Sicily. Tradition says that St. Anthony disembarked at Milazzo (Messina). As his talents were still unknown, his new community did not give Anthony any responsibilities. His Sicilian convalescence lasted for about two months. Anthony then left Sicily for the Italian mainland to take part in the General Chapter being held in Assisi from May 30 - June 8, 1221. As a recent foreign recruit from Lisbon, Anthony was not known and probably spent the nine days of the assembly isolated and alone, immersed in observation and reflection. When the General Chapter came to an end, none of the Ministers Provincial appeared interested in taking this undistinguished friar back with them to their jurisdictions. But Anthony was finally noticed by Friar Gratian, the Minister Provincial of Romagna. Having heard that the young man was a priest, Friar Gratian asked Anthony to come with him. Hermit at Montepaolo In the company of Gratian of Bagnacavallo and other friars from Romagna, Anthony arrived atMontepaolo in June 1221. His days were spent in prayer, meditation and humble service to his brothers. During this period, the future saint was able to mature his Franciscan vocation, renew his ascetic practices and purify himself in contemplation. Most biographies state that Anthony remained at Montepaolo until Pentecost (May 22), or at the latest, until September of the same year. Right from the start, given his obvious devotion, the brothers treated Anthony with reverence. Having seen that one of his companions had transformed a grotto into a solitary cell, Anthony asked if he could use it. Thus, every morning, after community prayers, Anthony hurried to his grotto (which is still carefully preserved today), to live alone with God in the discipline of penitence, intimate prayer, prolonged readings of the scriptures and contemplation. For the canonical hours and for meals, Anthony joined his companions But by his fervent penances he so exhausted his fragile health with fasts and vigils that, more than once, when the sound of the bell called him to community events, it is said that Anthony tottered in and would have collapsed had the other friars not held him up. When Anthony asked how he could be of service to the community, the guardian of the friary assigned him to wash the crockery and sweep the floors. Preacher and Teacher The Hour Of The call In September, 1222, the Dominicans and Franciscans gathered together at the cathedral in Forlì for the ordination of some of their community members. As was the custom, a sermon was to be offered at the liturgy, but for some reason no one had been chosen to give it. The superior of Montepaolo asked Anthony to speak after the others had declined because they were not prepared. The young friar tried to avoid the summons, but he bowed to the superior's insistence and began to speak serenely. As his speech progressed in articulate Latin, the words became more entrancing. In spite of his initial reticence, Anthony's profound knowledge of the Bible and his engaging eloquence could not help but shine through and impress all who were present. After the ordination ceremony, the formerly unnoticed Portuguese brother, the quiet and dutiful hermit, was thrust into the centre of attention of his community. He returned to Montepaolo and bid farewell to his peaceful grotto, asking his brother friars to remember him and to pray for him. Anthony the preacher After the revelation of Anthony's abilities at Forlì, his superiors asked him to preach in the towns and villages of Romagna. Thus St. Anthony began his mission as a preacher. He spoke to the people, sharing in their lowly and troubled lives. He alternated his commitment to education with works for peace; he taught theology to the friars, heard confessions and confronted heretics in private and public. Romagna was also afflicted by civil war: the cities were torn apart by suspicion, conspiracy and the violence of rival families. As if this were not enough, the heresy of the Cathari wasrampant and attracting more and more followers. The Church was slow to react and when it did, its response was unsuccessful. The heretics continued to spread distorted theories and sow dangerous doubts. An important incident took place at Rimini in 1223 where, according to tradition, St. Anthony overcame the obstinacy of one heretic, who did not believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Theologian in Bologna Toward the end of 1223, Anthony was invited to teach theology in the city of Bologna. For two years he taught the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith. For two years from the age of 28-30, he taught the basic truths of faith to clergy and laypeople using a simple but efficient method. He first read a sacred text and then interpreted it in an involving way which spoke to the listener's faith. St. Anthony was thus the first teacher of theology of the newly-established Franciscan Order, the first link in a chain of theologians, preachers and writers, who over the centuries have brought honour to the Church. "Anthony, my bishop" Francis of Assisi was hesitant about his brother friars dedicating themselves to the study of theology, as the Rule made clear. But given Anthony's solid foundation and his moral integrity, an exception was made. The authenticity of the brief letter sent to Anthony by St. Francis is now widely accepted by scholars. The text, translated from the Italian version of Kajetan Esser, is as follows: "To brother Anthony, my bishop, I wish you health. I approve of your teaching theology to the brothers, provided that, on account of this study, you do not diminish the spirit of holy prayer and devotion, as is ordained in the Rule. Be well." The great Franciscan scholar Raoul Manselli saw this letter as authorisation for Anthony to teach sacred theology to the friars. The letter is thus "a text of considerable importance" having "great value and significance for the entire history of the Order which must be understood and explained in view of its importance". And in his itinerant apostolate, both in Italy and in France, Anthony began introducing intensive preaching into the catechetical training of the new recruits of the Order, therefore "he must have already received the permission granted in Francis' brief letter… " It seems that Francis' initial hesitation regarding the study of theology reflected the mistrust that often existed between the learned and the unlearned of his day. Francis never wanted his brother friars to forget 'humility'. Theologian For His Brothers The friars asked St. Anthony to come and teach theology. They were in touch with the people and were saddened and alarmed at the inferiority of the young Franciscan Order, which together with the Dominicans was called by an ever-growing number of faithful to fill the gap left by the diocesan in the areas of pastoral work and religious instruction. The teaching of Theology emulated the initiative of the Dominican Order, known as the "Order of Preachers", which established a theological school in Bologna in 1219, while St. Dominic was still alive. A lesson with St. Anthony What would a theology lesson with St. Anthony have been like? According to the methods of the time, which Anthony also followed, allegory played an important role in explaining doctrine, as didconstant references to the Bible. This style encouraged: - a clarity of concepts, - expressions which avoided useless redundancies, - a concern to be persuasive and practical, - involvement of the entire person (rationally, emotionally and imaginatively), - all of which persuaded the listener to follow the biblical dictates in daily life. Doctor of the Church Among his contemporaries and in the generations immediately afterwards, Anthony was held to be a master of Christian knowledge and an unequalled biblical scholar. One historian says that St. Anthony possessed such eminent knowledge that he was able to use his memory instead of books, and he knew how to express himself with abundant grace in mystic language. The profoundness of his lecturing entranced his listeners. The Roman Curia welcomed Anthony to preach to them, and afterwards Pope Gregory IX complemented him by calling Anthony "the Ark of the Testament". In 1931, the seven-hundredth anniversary of St. Anthony's death, the Congregation of Rites discussed Anthony's teachings. They stated: "Se sia da confermarsi il culto di Dottore tributato per secoli a sant’Antonio di Padova e se sia da estendersi alla Chiesa universale, con ufficio e messa del comune dei dottori". "The cult of Doctor, attributed for centuries to St. Anthony of Padua, is to be confirmed and extended into in the liturgical office of the universal Church". Pope Pius XII had the honour of affirming this title on January 16, 1946, with the Apostolic LetterExsulta, Lusitania felix ('Rejoice, happy Portugal'). "St. Anthony is a Doctor of the Church with the title "doctor evangelicus". In fact, this formal apostolic recognition delayed by seven centuries was merely a confirmation of a belief that had come into existence shortly after Anthony's death.  The Mission In France France Thirsty For Peace A land ablaze, a people in torment. This was the south of France at the time of St. Anthony. The cause of so much agitation can be attributed to the political and social struggle between orthodox Catholics and the heretical Albigensiansect, which had taken root there decades earlier. The papacy united its strength with those worldly powers that saw the economic advantage of such an alliance, and together they fought the heresy. However, the persecutions that raged for over 20 years were to no avail. What drew the people back to the true religion was the witness and preaching of the Cistercians, Dominicans and Franciscans, who gave their all to this work in true accordance with the teachings of charity. Eminent among them was St. Anthony.   Where The Battle Rages There is no sure information concerning Anthony's time in France. There is, however, one fixed date,1226, when Anthony established a Franciscan friary in Limoges. Coming from Bologna, Anthony passed through Provence to Languedoc, then to Limoges and Berry. Here he found a region troubled by the Albigensian heresy, decimated by the crusades and rife with power struggles Since January 1217, Pope Honorius III had been encouraging the professors of theology in Paris to confront the Albigensian movement. Anthony was thus sent, probably accompanied by qualified friars, at the suggestion of the Minister General who had been informed of the situation by friars living in the area, and under pressure from the papal curia Anthony became a theology teacher and preacher in Montpellier, a distinguished university and a stronghold of Catholic orthodoxy. Dominicans and Franciscans were trained here both pastorally and intellectually, preparing themselves for the preaching of sermons to heretics throughout the country. Arles: St. Francis appears as Anthony preaches The fact is certain, but the date is unclear. The historian Thomas of Celano recalls how Friar John of Florence, chosen by St. Francis as Minister Provincial of the friars of Provence, celebrated a provincial chapter, either in the second half of 1224, or in the first half of the following year. During the assembly, Anthony gave a fervent sermon on the Passion of Christ. As he spoke, Friar Monaldo received a vision of "the blessed Francis raised in ecstasy above them with his arms extended in the form of the cross, in the act of blessing his friars". Saint Anthony's sermon was on the mystery of the Crucifixion of Christ, in particular on the inscription: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John, 19,19). It is very probable that this sermon was delivered on one of the days marked by the mystery of the cross: Good Friday, 28 March 1225; the finding of the Cross (Inventio crucis) on 2 May 1225; or even (and this would be particularly significant) the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in 1224, the very day on which St. Francis received the stigmata. Anthony in Toulouse and Limoges Toulouse lies in the present day province of Haute-Garonne and has ancient origins. Anthony's itinerant apostolate could not but echo throughout an ideological cross-roads such as Toulouse. It is more than likely that in this neo-Manichaean stronghold Anthony taught theology to the friars. Around 1226, Anthony moved further north, to Limoges. He stayed in the abbey of Solignac, on the Briance, which belongs to the diocese of Limoges, and here he performed a miracle for the monk who served as his nurse. Limoges remains one of the most important places in Anthony's life because he held the position of custos (superior) of the Franciscans of the city and its environs. While we are certain that Anthony was the custos of Limoges, this fact has to be accepted with a certain degree of circumspection since the evidence was only recorded some seventy years later. According to a chronicle of theFriary of St. Martial, in Limoges, Anthony gave his first speech in the cemetery of St. Paul taking as his text Psalm 29.6. He preached a second sermon in the Friary of St. Martin using Psalm 54.7, "Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly and find rest?" It was in Limoges that another astonishing event occurred in the Church of St. Pierre-du-Queyroix. At about midnight on Holy Thursday, St. Anthony was transported among his friars to sing the liturgy since it was his responsibility. In Bourges, Le Puy and elsewhere The year 1226 saw Anthony establishing a friary in Brive. It was here that Anthony found the necessary peace to restore his strength after the exhausting labours of preaching. He withdrew to some caves just outside the town. Here he dedicated himself to penance and contemplation. After his death, his memory was kept alive among the inhabitants of Brive, and the caves where he stayed have become a place of pilgrimage Although having been confiscated by the state during the uncertain times following the French Revolution, the sanctuary of Brive was bought back by the friars in 1874 and re-consecrated in 1895. Since then it has become the national centre of Anthonian devotion in France. The superb cathedral of Bourges, a gothic jewel, welcomed Anthony the missionary. He also went to Le-Puy-en-Velay, in the present-day province of Haute-Loire, at the foot of Mount Anisan. It is uncertain whether or not he held the position of guardian of the community here. It is impossible to say when St. Anthony returned to Italy, why he returned or where he lived as he continued on his missionary pilgrimage. Anthonian biographers state that his return to Italy would have been for the occasion of the General Chapter, held at Pentecost in Assisi 30 May 1227. St. Francis had died the previous year on the evening of 3 October 1226. Thus the assembly had to elect a new Minister General. As custos of the Limoges region, Anthony would have been required to take part in the chapter in which the St. Francis' successor was to be chosen. Other biographers believe that Anthony may not have actually been custos of the chapter at the time, but rather was recalled to Italy by Friar Elias or Friar Giovanni Parenti. All that is known is that, on his way to Italy, he crossed Provence on foot. In Padua TheGreat Paduan Period Anthony stayed in Padua on two occasions. The first was between 1229 and 1230 and the second between 1230 and 1231, during which he met his early death. Together the two occasions constitute a period of slightly more than twelve months in the city where he is the patron saint. What type of Padua attracted and welcomed him? A place which while composed of many different elements, was unanimous in its appreciation of Anthony at the foot of his pulpit or in the confessional, just a few months after his arrival. Padua functioned as a scriptorium for his biblical and liturgical commentaries. We can also hypothesise that Padua provided him not only with a supply of libraries but also with collaborators and clerks to help in drawing up the texts. The Sermones are considered as the most remarkable literary work of a religious nature compiled in Padua during the Middle Ages.  Padua interested Anthony because of its university; he had a preference for cities with centres of higher learning - Bologna, Montpellier, Toulouse, Vercelli. A university was also a place with a high concentration of youth. And Anthony was an expert "fisher of youth Perhaps feeling that his end was near, he aspired to secure new recruits for the demanding and joyful task of spreading the Gospel. What is more, the Veneto region was in a period of unrest. Anthony felt the need to intervene, doubling his efforts to ward off the spark of new conflict. Even in faithful Padua, there were still subtle and blatant followers of heresy. The days of salvation At dawn on February 5, Anthony put down his quill and stopped writing. The city was living a magical moment of peace. Word spread that he was going to preach daily for forty days of Lent, taking his inspiration from the daily readings. Before long, the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini was not able to contain the growing multitude. No church seemed large enough to contain the people, and soon not even the public squares were able to hold the crowds. Being heard was not a problem, since Anthony was endowed with exceptionally booming voice; however, the large numbers obliged him to speak outside the city, in the middle of the fields, just as he did in France. The nobility and the lower classes, women and men, young and old, fervent church-goers and people "distant" from the Church, gentlemen and scoundrels, religious and lay people alike all assembled to await the arrival of the man of God. Bishop Jacopo, together with his clergy, took part in the Lenten event, which he had authorised with the joy of a shepherd seeing his flock gathered in fertile pastures. From one sermon to the next, news of what was happening in Padua spread, causing a steady increase in listeners. An incessant crowd thronged around Anthony's confessional. He was unable to cope with them all, even though priests from his Order and diocesan priests of the city tried to lighten his load. All he could do was wait for the stream to die down at sunset. The Assidua narrates that Anthony resigned himself to fasting until sunset. Some flocked to the sacrament of penance, declaring that an apparition had driven them to confess and change their lives Assidua states:"He converted discord into fraternal peace; he restored freedom to prisoners, that which had been stolen by usury and violence was given back to its owners." House and land were mortgaged and the proceeds were laid at his feet. He dissuaded prostitutes from their base commerce; he made notorious thieves desist from laying their hands on other people's property. Thus, at the end of the 40 days, he gathered a harvest which was pleasing to the Lord. I cannot keep silent about the multitude that he inspired to confess their sins, so great a number of men and women that not even the group of priests that accompanied him were sufficient to hear their confessions." Anthony had a hand in changing the municipal legislation of Padua, in particular, a statue regarding insolvent debtors, dated 17 March 1231, Monday of Holy Week (the day after Palm Sunday). Here are the contents of the statue, from the original Latin: "By request of the venerable friar Anthony, of the Order of Friars Minor, it is established and ordained that no one convicted of one or more debts of money, in the past or the present or in the future, will be held in prison provided that he is willing to relinquish his possessions. This holds for both debtors and creditors. If, however, a renunciation or a relinquishment is made fraudulently, either by the debtor or by the creditor, it has no value and shall not bring damage to the creditor. When fraud cannot be demonstrated in an evident way, then let the mayor be the judge. This statute cannot be modified in any way and must remain unchanged in perpetuity."

In His Last Days

At The Hermitage of Camposampiero There are various reasons why Anthony withdrew to the hermitage at Camposampiero. The first is rarely mentioned but easily imagined. After the intense mission of preaching and reconciliation during Lent and the Easter season, he was simply exhausted. The second reason is given in the Assidua (15,2) and echoed by subsequent biographers. For practical reasons Anthony was obliged to suspend his preaching so that the people could attend to their crops. The third reason was that he wished to isolate himself in a tranquil, out of the way place, to continue writing the Sunday Sermones and perhaps finish them. The fourth motive was that he wished to avoid alarming his brother friars who were witnessing Anthony's declining health. And most importantly, no doubt, Anthony wished to retreat from active life, to immerse himself in prayer and prepare his spirit for his coming death. We can theorise that Anthony departed from Padua on Monday, May 19, and, therefore, his sojourn at Camposampiero, including a short stay at Verona, lasted approximately twenty-five days. Death Of Saint Anthony In late spring 1231, Anthony was taken ill. Knowing this to be his final illness, he asked to be taken to Padua, wishing to breathe his last in that city. He was laid on a cart pulled by oxen, and set off for the city in the company of some other friars. But when they reached Arcella, a small town on the outskirts of Padua, death took him.His final words were, "I see my Lord." It was 13 June, and Anthony was 36 years old. The Saint was buried in Padua, in the church ofSanta Maria Mater Domini, which had been his spiritual refuge during the period of his most intense apostolic work. At the end of the funeral celebrations, St. Anthony's body was buried in the small church of the city's Franciscan friary. It was probably not placed underground, but left suspended in an ark-tomb so that the growing number of faithful could see and touch it. A year after his death, the fame of many miracles brought about through his intercession convinced Pope Gregory IX to shorten the period for his canonisation, and Anthony was proclaimed a Saint on 30 May 1232, only 11 months after his death.  The Church has also done justice to his spiritual doctrine, since Pope Pius XII proclaimed him "Doctor of the Universal Church" in 1946.