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Did you know that St. Anthony is not Italian? And his given name was not "Anthony"? And that he wasn't always a Franciscan? All true facts!
St. Anthony of Padua was born and baptized "Fernando" in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195 to wealthy and prominent parents. At the age of 15 he became an Augustinian monk, and he studied in earnest for eleven years. One day the bodies of five Franciscan martyrs were returned home for burial. They were martyred while preaching Christ to the Muslims in North Africa. Fernando was so inspired that he decided he wanted to become a Franciscan and earn the martyr's crown. After much pleading with his superior, he was allowed to leave the Augustinian order and joined the Franciscans at the convent of St. Anthony of the Desert. Francisco took his vows as a Franciscan and assumed the name Anthony in honor of the hermit for whom the convent was named.
His wish to be sent to Africa was soon granted, but upon his arrival in Morocco he fell gravely ill and could not go on to perform missionary work. He eventually boarded a boat home so he could recover, but the boat met with severe storms in the Mediterranean Sea and was blown off course, eventually reaching the shore of eastern Sicily. The friars nearby nursed him back to health, and as a "visitor" to their convent, he was given the job of dishwasher. In his humility, he did not speak of his background and theological knowledge and preferred a life of quiet prayer and penance.
One day in 1222 during a gathering of Dominicans and Franciscans, the provincial wanted someone to deliver a short sermon after the meal. As there were no volunteers, Anthony was asked to "just deliver something simple," as they assumed that this young and humble friar had little education. After he spoke, it was clear that God had greater plans for him than to just be a dishwasher, and he was quickly reassigned to Northern Italy. In total he made over 400 trips across the country, seeking to preach in villages, towns, and cities where heresy and paganism were the strongest. Rather than debate people to prove them wrong, he preferred to win converts by preaching the glory of Christ. His legendary preaching earned the gentlest of all saints the nickname "the Hammer of Heretics".
Toward the end of his life, St. Anthony began drawing huge crowds, sometimes in excess of 30,000 people who would begin gathering the night before. He began to need a bodyguard to keep people away from him, as they carried scissors to try and snip off locks of his hair or garments. After speaking he would hear confessions all day and into the night. Such work was exhausting for him, and in a small town named Camposampiero near his beloved Padua, he began to take refuge and rest in a treehouse in an old walnut tree. From there he would pray and teach his brother Franciscans before heading out again once regaining his strength. At the age of only 36, St. Anthony passed to his eternal reward on June 13th, 1231. He was canonized only a year later, and his incorrupt tongue is venerated to this day at the St. Anthony shrine in Padua.
St. Anthony is the patron saint of Catholic Treehouse, and so we celebrate his feast day today. He is also my patron saint and the patron saint of my family, which was started when I married my bride in St. Anthony Church in Dayton, Ohio, almost 21 years ago.
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