St. Anthony, Wonder-Worker of Padua

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org

St. Anthony of Padua was born on August 15, 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal to a prominent family. At 15 years of age, St. Anthony, then-called Ferdinand, entered the Order of St. Augustine. The young monk, viewing a solemn funeral procession for five Franciscans who were martyred in Morocco, was inspired to leave the Augustinian monastery to become a Franciscan. He took the name Anthony.

The life of St. Anthony of Padua was filled with great and holy experiences. A nobleman who lived close to Padua, Italy had a large property which housed a chapel and a hermitage for the friars. St. Anthony often stayed at there. One night, his small room filled up with light. Jesus appeared to Anthony in the form of a tiny child. Passing by the hermitage, the nobleman saw the light shining from the room and St. Anthony holding and speaking with the infant. The nobleman fell to his knees upon seeing this wondrous sight. When the vision ended, St. Anthony saw the man kneeling at the open door and begged him not to reveal what he had seen until after Anthony’s death. Artwork depicting St. Anthony of Padua frequently shows him holding the infant Jesus in his arms.

St. Anthony of Padua died on June 13, 1231 in Padua, Italy at the age of 36. He was canonized less than one year later by Pope Gregory IX.