© Parish of Hawley 2011

Registered Charity No. 1130589

Saint Anthony of Padua also venerated as Saint Anthony of Lisbon  was born in Lisbon, Portugal, as Fernando Martins de Bulhões to a wealthy family and who died in Padua, Italy.

Anthony was born on the Feast of the Assumption, to Martim Vicente de Bulhões and wife Teresa Pais Taveira (a descendant of Alfonso VI of Castile - and thus a half-third cousin once removed of King Alphonso II of Portugal, and brother of Pedro Martins de Bulhões (ancestor of the de Bulhão/de Bulhões family), in a very rich family of the nobility who wanted him to become a noble; however these were not his wishes. His family arranged sound education for him at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, Anthony entered the Augustinian Abbey of St Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The canons regular of St Augustine, of which he was now a member, were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits. Anthony studied Scripture and the Latin classics. Anthony was constantly visited by friends and relatives, bringing embarrassing gifts and news from their social world which disturbed him. His studies were suffering and there he found no peace. He persuaded his superiors to transfer him to the Augustinian Santa Cruz Monastery (Abbey of the Holy Cross) in Coimbra, then the capital of Portugal, and continued his studies.

After his ordination, Anthony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morroco to preach to the Muslims there. Anthony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscans. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been  martyred in Morocco. Anthony meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans. He wanted to obey God's call to leave everything and follow Him. Anthony obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order. In the summer of 1220 he was invested with the Franciscan habit and began to learn the teachings of their founder, Fracis of Assisi. He took the new name of Anthony when he joined the Order of Friars Minor in honor of St. Anthony the Great, to whom the Franciscan hermitage in the current civil parish of  Santo Antonio dos Olivias, Coimbra, where he was living, was dedicated. Anthony joined the Franciscan Order in the year of 1221.

Shortly after, Anthony set off to Morocco with another friar. He intended to die preaching the Gospel there. However, upon his arrival in Morocco, he fell so ill he had no choice but to return home.

On the return trip to Portugal, his ship was driven by storm upon the coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made his way to Assisi and sought admission into a monastery in Italy, but met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolo near Forli, Romagna, Italy, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he appears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen.

One day, on the occasion of an ordination, when a great many visiting Dominican monks were present, there was some misunderstanding over who should preach. The Franciscans naturally expected that one of the Dominicans would occupy the pulpit, for they were renowned for their preaching; the Dominicans, on the other hand, had come unprepared, thinking that a Franciscan would be the homilist.

In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who had no one among his own humble friars suitable for the occasion, called upon Anthony, whom he suspected was most qualified, and instructed him to speak whatever the Holy Spirit should put into his mouth. Anthony objected but was overruled, and his sermon created a deep impression. Not only his rich voice and arresting manner, but the entire theme and substance of his discourse and his moving eloquence, held the attention of his hearers.

At that point, Anthony was commissioned by Brother Gratian, the minister provincial, to preach the Gospel throughout Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. From then on his skills were used to the utmost by the Church. Occasionally he took another post, as a teacher, for instance, at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse—both in southern France—but it was as a preacher that Anthony revealed his supreme gift.

The iconic image of Saint Anthony, with book of Scripture, Christ Child, and the lily of the Annunciation, rendered by Guercico, 1656

In 1226, after attending the Franciscan chapter at Arles, France, and preaching in the French region of Provence, Anthony returned to Italy and served as envoy from the general chapter to Pope Gregory IX. At the papal court, his preaching was hailed as a "jewel case of the Bible" and he was commissioned to produce "Sermons for Feast Days."

Anthony was elected minister provincial of the Italian region of Emilia- Romagna on 30 May; the friars held out against the push of Franciscan austerities. Anthony became ill with dropsy and, in 1231, went to the woodland retreat at Camposampiero with two other friars for a respite. There Anthony lived in a cell built for him under the branches of a walnut tree. Saint Anthony died on 13 June 1231 at the Poor Clare convent at Arcella on the way back to Padua at the age of 36.

When he died, it is said that the children cried in the streets and that all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord, rung by angels come to earth to honour the death of the saint. He is buried in a chapel (once a church, now enclosed by the current edifice) of the large Basilica of St Anthony in Padua. The house where he was born was turned into a church, the  Igreja de Santo Antonio de Lisboa.

One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are ubiquitous. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on January 16, 1946, he is sometimes called "Evangelical Doctor". He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost ("Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around. Something is lost and cannot be found.").

St. Anthony is known in Brazill and Portugal as a marriage saint, because legend has him as one who conciliated couples. His feast day, June 13, is Lisbon's municipal holiday, celebrated with parades and marriages of humble couples, and he is one of the saints celebrated in the Brazilian Festa Junina (along with John the Baptist and St Peter).

Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.

We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit only leaves. It is useless for man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teaching by his actions. But the apostles "spoke as the spirit gave them the gift of speech." Happy the man whose words issue from the Holy Spirit and not from himself!

We should speak, then, as the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of speech. Our humble and sincere request to the Spirit for ourselves should be that we may bring the day of Pentecost to fulfilment, insofar as he infuses us with his grace, by using our bodily senses in a perfect manner by keeping the commandments. Likewise we shall request that we may be filled with a keen sense of sorrow and with fiery tongues for confessing the faith so our deserved reward may be to stand in the blazing splendour of the saints and to look upon the triune God.

- From a Sermon of St Anthony of Padua