a european heart
A native of Portugal, he ended his life in Padua, Italy, after having crossed the south of France fighting heresy. The young descendant of the family of Charlemagne and Godofroy de Bouillon, had decided to renounce his kinship with the nobility to follow the Franciscan vows of poverty, and go to die as a martyr in Morocco. However, God chose him to defend the true faith on European soil, for which he prevented his trip, and changed his course, leading him to preach the sound doctrine to the Albigensians, (dissident heretical movement of the Catholic Church) . Antonio stood out for his gift of oratory and his teachings, which would lead him to become the first great Franciscan theologian, and a Doctor of the Church. He is considered the patron saint of Portugal and one of the main defenders of Christian roots in Europe.
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Biography of Saint Anthony of Padua
Fernando Martins de Bulhoeswas born in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal. He was the son of a knight in the service of the king and his family was quite devout. In his youth his education was in charge of the canons of the cathedral of Lisbon.
At the age of fifteen, Fernando entered the monastery of the regular canons of San Agustín. Two years later, he moved to the Santa Cruz monastery in Coimbra, the main seat of the Order. For eight years, the young man received training in theology and biblical study from the regular canons of the order of St. Augustine, and then was ordained a priest at the age of 25.
In 1220 the young priest felt deeply moved by the triumphant reception given to five Franciscan brothers who died as martyrs in Morocco, so he did not hesitate to meet with the Franciscan brothers of the hermitage Two Olives and ask them to send him to Morocco and thus receive the crown of the martyrs. In fact, his request to withdraw from the canons regular was granted, and Fernando became a Franciscan, adopting the name of Antonio, in memory of San Antonio hermitage and father of the desert. After these events, he immediately traveled to Marrakech.
As soon as he arrived in Morocco, the young priest fell ill and was unable to exercise his priestly ministry, so, unable to recover, he had to return to Portugal. On the return trip, strong winds caused the ship to reach Sicily, where the friars of Messina welcomed him fraternally. After two months of convalescence, the young priest went to Assisi in Italy, place where San Francisco gathered all the Franciscan brothers for the great event of Pentecost. This is how Antonio had the opportunity to listen to Saint Francis speak of the ideal of evangelization, which confirmed his vocation as a Franciscan. Once the event was over, Antonio was sent to the chapel of Montepaolo to celebrate the Eucharist for the brothers, and there he consecrated himself to prayer and community service work.
One day Antonio was invited to preach. On that occasion, everyone confirmed that he had a great gift for preaching, which they were able to identify thanks to his profound knowledge and his way of expressing himself, quite clearly and precisely, for which they asked him to exercise the preaching ministry, especially to combat the heresy of Catharism, which was then quite widespread in the region. From that moment on, Brother Antonio dedicated himself to traveling the roads of Italy and the south of France to reaffirm the morality of the Gospel and rectify Christian doctrine. In 1223, Saint Francis asked Antonio to teach theology to the Franciscan brothers. Thus they were founded the first schools of Franciscan theology in Italy and in France. After the death of Saint Francis, Antonio returned to Italy, where he was appointed Provincial Superior from the north of the country. Upon his return, was integrated to the community of Padua, where he settled permanently from the year 1230. There he exercised a ministry of confession and made an effort to defend the rights of the poor. Later, finding himself quite exhausted, he had no choice but to retire in Camposampiero, to lead a life of prayer and meditation. It is precisely in that place that he received the sweet visit of the Child Jesus. Finally, Antony died on June 13, 1231, in the outskirts of Padua, at the age of 36, while his lips whispered these words: “I see my Lord.”
It should be noted that, after his death, the devotion to Saint Anthony by the inhabitants of the surroundings of Padua began to grow, and they happened Thousands of healings and miracles at the foot of his grave. These events led Pope Gregory IX to open a canonization process, which finally became effective on May 30, 1232, that is, just 11 months after his death, which constitutes a unique record in history. of holiness. Saint Anthony of Padua was proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pius XII in 1946 Y su party is celebrated on June 13.
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The spiritual outreach of Saint Anthony
The sermons of Saint Anthony
Antony is said to have written his sermons for Sundays and holidays of the year during a stay in Padua; he took the time to shape his preaching and teachings, which he passed on many times to his Franciscan brothers. The objective of these sermons was the formation of the Christian life, since they spoke of faith, the execution of the sacraments, good customs… In fact, these sermons constitute the great literary and theological work of Saint Anthony: they were written in medieval Latin and have a very scholarly style, full of numerous citations to the holy scriptures, the church fathers and the Greek philosophers.
The miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
During his lifetime, San Antonio was known as healer and thaumaturge, who did many miracles, of which, we refer to some of the most famous examples: on one occasion, a heretic refused to believe in the real presence and put Saint Anthony to the test. The saint brought a mule and made it choose between his food and the holy sacrament. Upon hearing Saint Anthony’s prayer, the animal knelt before the consecrated host, and the unbeliever was converted. On another occasion, a newborn baby spoke to indicate who his father was, which allowed solve an accusation of adultery against the order of San Antonio,
After the death of Saint Anthony, many are those who direct their prayers to him: people pray especially to Saint Anthony for children, since his intercession has obtained many miracles for the little ones. For example, on one occasion Saint Anthony raised a little boy who had drowned. For this reason, tradition encourages children to be consecrated from birth, to place them under the protection of this great saint. In fact, there is a special prayer to ask Saint Anthony for a miracle.
San Antonio, patron saint of lovers
San Antonio de Padua is known for being the patron saint of lovers. They pray to him, especially, for find the soul mate or recover the lost love. Next, we share an effective prayer to find love.
In addition, it is well known that Saint Anthony acts in all areas of our affective and family lives: he can be prayed for fertility difficulties, by pregnant women, for the marriages and in general by families.
Saint Anthony of Padua and the lost objects
Saint Anthony is well known for being the saint who helps find the lost objects. It is also customary to pray to San Antonio, to find missing persons. In fact, it is said that when praying hea prayer to find a lost object, With faith and trust, effective and amazing results are obtained.
The Basilica San Antonio de Padua
The Pontifical Basilica of Saint Anthony, is one of the greatest masterpieces in the world; in Italy it is called Il Santo. This place of worship is one of the most frequented by Christians and recognized by the church as an “international sanctuary.” The construction of this building in honor of San Antonio began in 1232 and lasted until the end of the 13th century. As a curious fact, it can be said that the Basilica of San Antonio is quite similar to the Basilica of San Marcos in Venice. In fact, its architecture, which extraordinarily mixes Roman and Gothic styles, makes the basilica a wonder to behold, and a very original construction.
Prayers to Saint Anthony of Padua
Between the prayers More effective to obtain the intercession of San Antonio de Padua, are the litanies of San Antonio de Padua, the prayer for lost things, the prayer of the thirteen Tuesdays. You can also pray rosary to San Antonio, which is actually a trecena, which is a powerful prayer when obtaining a grace.
In fact, you can deposit your prayer intentions to San Antonio de Padua here, and in the basilica of saint anthony They will pray for them.