To celebrate with you, the feast day of the great Franciscan saint, St. Anthony of Padua we share with you the song featured above. It truly captures the man's Franciscan spirit.
St. Anthony of Padua's story is remarkable. He was born into a wealthy noble family in Lisbon, Portugal, probably around the year 1195 and baptized as Ferdinand.
Ferdinand's family home was not far from the Cathedral of Lisbon. His parents wanting to ensure that their son was well educated sent him to school at the cathedral.
The Cathedral of Lisbon
By the time Ferdinand was 15, he was already discerning his call from God to a religious vocation. During this year in his life he entered the Canons Regular of St. Giessen, whose Convent of St. Vincent stood just outside Lisbon's city walls. Two years later he transferred to the Convent of Santa Croce in Coimbra where he found solitude for prayer and studying. Ferdinand continued his quiet existence in Santa Croce for 8 years.
In 1220 an event occurred that fundamentally changed Ferdinand's life. Ferdinand saw caskets with the bodies of Franciscan martyrs in the Church of Santa Croce on their way back from missionary work in Morocco. Very quickly he realized that he too had to be a Franciscan striving for martyrdom.
At the Santa Croce convent of the Order of Friars Minor, Ferdinand received his Franciscan habit and took on the name Anthony. He was now ready and able to leave for Morocco. A long and painful illness however prevented Anthony from undertaking the missionary work that he so desired; it forced him to return to Portugal.
The coast of Sicily
Except, Anthony never made it to Portugal. A massive storm overwhelmed the ship he was travelling on, tossing it back and forth until it found itself drifting off the coast of Sicily. Needing rest to recover from his illness, Anthony spent a fair bit of time on the island and then travelled to his Order's General Chapter in Assisi, every Franciscan's spiritual home. He hoped to find a home in a friary there, but was sent instead to a hermitage near the town of Forli.
A second transformative event in Anthony's life took place at his home in the hermitage near Forli. On the day of an ordination it just so happened that there was not anyone who was supposed to preach. The superior present at the ordination asked several attending friars to speak, but not one of them agreed to do so. When he asked Anthony - who indeed said yes to preaching at the ordination - no one there knew what to expect. Shaking off his initial nervousness, Anthony gained confidence and began to speak beautifully about the Holy Scripture.
St. Anthony of Padua and Baby Jesus
News about Anthony's learning and preaching spread very quickly. Francis of Assisi who was still alive instructed Anthony to become a teacher of theology. Eager to do this, Anthony ended up teaching in Bologna, Montpellier, and Toulouse. People flocked to listen to Anthony because besides being learned he was also an excellent orator. On top of that, many people knew him for the miracles that he performed.
In 1226, the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor elected Anthony Minister Provincial of Emilia-Romagna. Five years later he was dead. Pope Gregory IX canonized him in 1232. Buried in Padua, St. Anthony is the patron saint of that city.
(Source of all related images on webapge and homepage: www.wikipedia.org.)
