St Anthony, Abbott

Born in 215 AD in Egypt from a devout Christian family, St Anthony was left orphan with his younger sister at a very young age. He was responsible of taking care of his parents’ properties and fields. Yet he decided later on to distribute much of his wealth to the poor, after making sure he kept some of the money for his sister and himself. At the age of 35, he crossed the Nile and went to live in the mountains as a hermit. He lived like this for 20 years, eating only bread and water, and fasting most of the days. The only luxury was adding some salt to his diet and later in life adding a little oil.

He had many temptations in the desert, especially in the early years in his hermitage. Very few people visited him, but one person who became close to him was St Athanasius, who eventually wrote Anthony’s biography, and that is why we know many details of his austere life. A few men wanted to live like him and he built two monasteries for them. Many animals also befriended him, and they used to visit him regularly. In fact in many churches the blessing of animals is held today, as is done on the feast of St Francis of Assisi. St Anthony died at the age of 105, and many others lived as hermits after him, known as the Desert Fathers. We learn from him to spend time in prayer, away from this world’s distractions, not necessarily as hermits, but close to God in our own private space or churches.