ANTHONY of Padua

Also known as:  Evangelical Doctor

Memorial: 13 June  

Biography:

Anthony's wealthy family wanted him to be a great nobleman, but for the sake of Christ he became a poor Franciscan Priest.

When the remains of Saint Bernard and his companions, the first Franciscan martyrs, were brought to be buried in his church, Anthony was moved to leave his order, enter the Friars Minor, and go to Morocco to evangelize. Shipwrecked at Sicily, he joined some other brothers who were going to Portiuncula. Lived in a cave at San Paolo leaving only to attend Mass and sweep the nearby monastery. One day when a scheduled speaker failed to appear, the brothers pressed him into speaking. He impressed them so that he was thereafter constantly traveling, evangelizing, preaching, and teaching theology through Italy and France.

A gifted speaker, he attracted crowds everywhere he went, speaking in multiple tongues; legend says that even the fish loved to listen. Wonder worker. One of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are found everywhere. He was proclaimed “The Doctor of the Church, on 16 January 1946.

Born : 1195 at Lisbon, Portugal

Died : 13 June 1231

Canonized : 30 May 1232 by Pope Gregory IX at Spoleto, Italy

Name Meaning : inestimable