Saint Anthony of Padua

Anthony was born Fernando Martins around 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal, and became an Augustinian canon in Coimbra. In 1220, moved by the relics of five Franciscans martyred in Morocco, he joined the Franciscans, took the name Anthony and sailed to Africa. Illness forced him back, a storm carried his ship to Sicily, and he lived quietly in an Italian hermitage until he was asked to preach at an ordination in 1222. Everyone was astonished by his learning and eloquence.

Saint Francis entrusted him with teaching theology to the friars. Anthony preached throughout Italy and southern France, drawing huge crowds and calling people to conversion and justice for the poor. Worn out, he died near Padua on June 13, 1231, at about thirty-six. Pope Gregory IX canonized him less than a year later, and Pius XII named him a Doctor of the Church in 1946.

Saint Anthony is invoked for lost things, and many people say a quick prayer to him when they misplace keys, papers or even their faith. Saint Anthony's Bread, blessed rolls or alms given to the poor, began as a promise in thanksgiving for favors received; parishes bless bread and lilies on his feast. Many devotees pray the Thirteen Tuesdays before his feast.

In Spain and Latin America single women ask San Antonio for a good husband, and some playfully turn his statue upside down until the prayer is answered. In Lisbon the Santos Populares fill the streets with grilled sardines, parades and group weddings, and in Brazil the Festas Juninas begin around his feast.