June 13 — The Life of Saint Anthony of Padua: The Friar No One Noticed Who Astonished All of Europe

The story of Saint Anthony of Padua — Saint of the Day June 13 — the Portuguese nobleman's son who gave up everything to follow Francis of Assisi, became the greatest preacher of the medieval Church, and died at thirty-six years old with his tongue incorrupt eight centuries later. Born Fernando Martins de Bulhões in Lisbon around 1195, Anthony entered the Augustinian Canons at fifteen and spent eight years in deep theological study at the abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra. In 1220, the martyrdom of five Franciscans in Morocco changed his life irrevocably: he left the Augustinians, took the Franciscan habit, and sailed for Morocco. Illness redirected him to Italy, where a storm landed him in Sicily. Sent to the hermitage of Montepaolo, he lived in obscurity until 1222, when he was asked to fill an unexpected gap at an ordination ceremony in Forlì and preached with such force that his provincial superior reassigned him immediately. Francis of Assisi wrote to him personally, commissioning him to teach theology to the friars. He preached across northern Italy and southern France against the Cathar heresy, drew crowds of thirty thousand in Padua during Lent of 1231, and died on June 13 of that year at the Poor Clares' convent in Arcella, just outside the city he loved. Pope Gregory IX canonized him on May 30, 1232, less than twelve months after his death. In 1263, when his remains were transferred to the new basilica in Padua, his tongue was found perfectly preserved. Pope Pius XII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1946. On this June 13 — Saint of the Day, Saint Anthony of Padua reminds us that God redirects what we cannot control, that gifts hidden in silence are never wasted, and that the truth spoken with love reaches further than any human resistance. — SOURCES: Sophronius Clasen, O.F.M., Saint Anthony: Doctor of the Church (1961) Vergilio Gamboso, Life of St. Anthony of Padua (1991) Pope Gregory IX, Bull of Canonization Cum dicat Dominus (May 30, 1232) Pope Pius XII, Apostolic Letter Exulta, Lusitania felix (January 16, 1946) Butler's Lives of the Saints, June 13 Catholic Encyclopedia, "St. Anthony of Padua" (newadvent.org) — BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SAINTS — A documentary series on the lives of the saints. #SaintAnthonyOfPadua #SaintOfTheDay #CatholicDocumentary