Our Patron Saint:

St. Anthony of Padua
Doctor of the Church
Feast – 13 June

St. Anthony was born to a prominent Portuguese family in 1195 and given the name Ferdinand at his baptism.  He was educated at the Cathedral School of Lisbon, and at the age of fifteen, having completed his studies there, he entered an Augustinian convent and spent the next ten years in prayer and study of Sacred Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers.  In 1220, the deaths of the first Franciscan martyrs in Morocco kindled in him the desire to become a missionary, to preach the faith to the Muslims, and to suffer for Christ’s sake; so he joined the Franciscans, taking the name Anthony.

Poor health prevented Anthony from undertaking missionary work in Morocco, and he ended up in Italy, where his ministry as a preacher and worker of miracles was completed.  His deep understanding of the faith, cultivated in his many years of study, and his zeal made him an outstanding orator.  This talent for preaching, coupled with the gift of miracles, Anthony used for the glory of God, which brought about the conversion of many from the vices and heresies of the time.

Anthony died on 13 June, 1231 after receiving the Sacraments and seeing a vision of our Lord.  Pope Gregory IX canonized him on the feast of Pentecost the following year.  When his body was exhumed years later, his tongue, which had so faithfully and beautifully preached the gospel, was found to be incorrupted.

*** click here to review the Life of Saint Anthony captured in the stained glass panels illuminating our church ***