Rediscovering the memorable Saint Anthony of Padua

Catholic saints sometimes become popular for strange reasons. Saint Nicholas, bishop of the early Church, may have inspired the legend of Saint Nick, but he bore little resemblance to today’s chubby Santa Claus. Saint Ambrose of Milan may be respected by scholars for his honey-sweet gift with words, but it is a bit odd that this talent would lead him to become known as the patron of beekeepers.¹

Similarly, it is somewhat disappointing that most Catholics only call upon the brilliant, articulate Saint Anthony of Padua to help them find their car keys. After all, Saint Anthony can do much more for us than help us find items we have lost.

The future Saint Anthony of Padua, Fernando Martins de Bulhões, was born into a devout, noble family in Lisbon, Portugal, in the year 1195. He chose to become an Augustinian canon in his native city when he was fifteen years old, but two years later, he asked his superiors to send him to a monastery in another city. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy frequent visits from his family and friends, but he realized that they were interrupting his prayer time and his study of the Bible and the Church Fathers.

Several years later, when he was living in Coimbra, Portugal, the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs passed through his town. These five men had given their lives for Christ, and he was so moved by their example that he requested permission to leave the canons and enter the Franciscan order. After he became a Franciscan friar and took the name of Anthony, he was sent by the order to preach the Gospel to Muslims in Morocco. Fortunately for us, he became so ill when he reached Africa that he was sent back to Europe. He reached Italy just as the order was holding a public chapter meeting, and at that meeting, Anthony personally saw the famous Francis of Assisi.

A few years later, Anthony and some other friars were invited to a priestly ordination. When a superior realized that no one had prepared to give a homily, he picked a random friar to speak. He chose Anthony.

Anthony had been dutifully studying the Catholic faith for several years. To avoid becoming proud, he had carefully refrained from boasting about his knowledge to other people. However, he obediently preached to the best of his ability to the assembled crowd. That’s when the Franciscans discovered that the humble young Anthony was not only a gifted speaker, but he also possessed an astonishing memory.

The Franciscans did not waste time. They sent Anthony to preach the Gospel to the laity, explain theology to his brother friars, and even serve as the order’s Provincial Superior in northern Italy. Anthony spent much of the rest of his short life traveling around Europe as a preacher. His strong speaking voice, excellent delivery, and Scriptural knowledge attracted huge crowds. It also led many who had fallen into heresy back to the Church and brought even more lax Catholics to conversion. Anthony died at the age of thirty-six.

Perhaps most lay Catholics today are content to call upon Anthony’s intercession to help them find misplaced things because they find it difficult to relate to his brilliance and eloquence. After all, he was so famous during his lifetime for being able to refute false teachings with charity that his contemporaries nicknamed him the “Hammer of the Heretics”. Not many of us aspire to be given that title.

But there are at least three ways we can turn to Saint Anthony for spiritual help.

First, while not every Catholic can memorize the entire Bible, as Anthony apparently did, every Catholic should at least read it. Anthony was not born with an infused knowledge of the intricacies of Sacred Scripture and Catholic theology. He worked hard to study the faith so that he could draw close to God and help others do the same. In our own day, print, audio, and video materials are all available to help us understand our faith, and we can ask for Anthony’s help from Heaven in understanding what we study.

Second, Anthony didn’t simply accumulate interesting trivia about the Christian faith. He also tried to understand the faith well enough to explain it to others. Although most of us will never be invited to speak to thousands of people, as Anthony was, we can investigate topics that interest us. And if a family member or friend should bring up a difficult question about the faith, we can accept that question as a God-sent homework assignment and ask for Anthony’s intercession when we try to explain it to them.

Third, Anthony, as a true Franciscan, lived an ascetic life. He did not live a life of poverty as a form of self-punishment but so that he would be less attached to the world and more attached to God. In addition to separating from family and friends who were not helping him in his personal journey in sanctity, he periodically lived alone in remote areas. We too can ask Saint Anthony to help us carve out time for silence in our schedules and discern which things and relationships are not helping us become saints.

Saint Anthony of Padua’s remarkable memory was a gift to all Catholics and earned him the title of Doctor of the Church. He can certainly help us find parking spaces and misplaced checkbooks. But through his intercession and his example, he can also inspire us to learn about God and what He has revealed to us. Then we can share it with others and, God willing, join him in Heaven with our Savior.

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