Today is the Memorial day of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church. Let us pray!
“What meekness of divine love! What patience of the Father’s kindness! How deep and unfathomable the secret of the eternal mind!”[1]
St. Anthony was the son of a wealthy Portuguese family in the 13th century. At fifteen, he became a canon regular at the Abbey of St. Vincent. Later, he studied theology at the prestigious Abbey of the Holy Cross in Coimbra, Portugal.
In his role as guestmaster at the abbey, St. Anthony befriended Franciscan friars who were soon martyred in Morocco. Inspired by their tragic heroism, he became Franciscan and was sent to Morocco as a missionary. In Africa, he became very ill and left to go to Italy. There he met St. Francis and was called to preaching. This supreme gift took him all the way to the papal court, where he served under Pope Gregory IX and was commissioned to write a collection of sermons. He died at 36 and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. [2][3]
Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Anthony of Padua, Quinquagesima,
[2] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “St. Anthony.”
[3] Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, The Martyrology of the Monastery of the Ascension, 2008.