St. Anthony of Padua:
Patron of Sailors, Travelers and Fishermen
In Portugal,
Italy, France and Spain, St. Anthony is the patron saint of sailors and
fishermen. According to some biographers h
is
statue is sometimes placed in a shrine on the ship’s mast. And the sailors
sometimes scold him if he doesn’t respond quickly enough to their prayers.
Not only have those who travel the seas but also other travelers and vacationers prayed that they may be kept safe because of Anthony’s intercession.
Several stories and legends may account for associating the saint with travelers and sailors.
First, there is the very real fact of Anthony’s own travels in preaching the gospel, particularly his journey and mission to preach the gospel in Morocco, a mission cut short by severe illness. But after his recovery and return to Europe, he was a man always on the go, heralding the Good News.
There is also a story of two Franciscan sisters who wished to make a pilgrimage to a shrine of our Lady of Fatima but did not know the way. A young man is supposed to have volunteered to guide them. Upon their return from the pilgrimage one of the sisters announced that it was her patron saint, Anthony, who had guided them.
Still another story says that in 1647 Father Erastius Villani of Padua was returning by ship to Italy from Amsterdam. The ship with its crew and passengers was caught in a violent storm. All seemed doomed. Father Erastius encouraged everyone to pray to St. Anthony. Then he threw some pieces of cloth that had touched a relic of St. Anthony into the heaving seas. At once, the storm ended, the winds stopped and the sea became calm.
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