St Anthony of Padua

St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)

Born in Lisbon on August 15, 1195, St. Anthony first joined the Augustinians in 1210 but when he saw the Franciscans at work, and 5 of them killed in Morocco, he  left to join the Franciscans 10 years later. He was still a student when a confusion arose during an Ordination about who was supposed to preach. St Anthony volunteered to preach and delivered a beautiful sermon, which eventually speeded up his own ordination to the priesthood. He later went to Italy and worked mostly in Padova. On one occasion, when people did not come to listen to his sermons, he went to the shore and the fish came to the surface to listen to his eloquence. He took part in the order’s general chapter in Assisi in 1221 and personally met St. Francis, and became one of his closest confidantes and helpers. . He died at the convent of Arcella in Padua, Italy, on June 13, 1231. Believed to be the second fastest canonization in history, he was declared a saint just one year after his death, in May 1232. In 1946, Pope Pius XII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church.