How many saint anthony are there

His request was granted, and that same year, he arrived in Morocco. It was then he took the name Anthony. He believed God wanted him to evangelize to the Muslims, and he was ready to give his life for Jesus. But such was not the case; in a few months, illness forced him to return to Europe. His propensity as a preacher became known quite by accident. Most who knew Anthony in saw him as a pious individual but without any special talents, especially that of an orator.

Anthony, without warning, was asked to preach at a gathering of Franciscans and Dominicans. So forceful, simplistic, even eloquent was his presentation that he was quickly asked to preach all over Italy and areas of France. His theological expertise and inspirational oration were not lost on the leader of the order, St. Francis, who soon enlisted Anthony to teach theology to other Franciscans.

This was a unique honor, as he would have a great impact on the future of the order and, by extension, the Church. In the 12th- and 13th-century Europe , various heretical groups, but primarily the Albigensians of southern France, were growing in number with the intention of rejecting most Church teachings, bringing down the pope and destroying the Catholic faith.

Anthony was sent to dissuade and return these misguided people to the flock. By his devotion to Church beliefs, unpretentious manner, lack of insult and well-articulated debate, he was able to turn certain of these heretics back to the Church. Anyone who came in contact with Anthony was impressed by his sincerity, his humility; some recognized the Spirit of God speaking through him. The Child Jesus himself touched his lips with his fingers, that they might pour forth golden words.

He had a remarkable love for the Eucharist, and one story, perhaps a legend, exemplifies such love. Anthony was confronted by a heretic who denied the Catholic belief in the Eucharist.

The heretic challenged Anthony, saying that he would starve his mule for three days and then bring the animal in front of himself and the saint. The heretic would have food that the mule normally ate; Anthony would have the Blessed Sacrament. If the mule ignored the food and instead knelt down in front of the host, the heretic would become a Catholic.

On the third day, the animal went straight to Anthony, who was holding the Eucharist, and knelt down. Anthony is well-known and well-loved. Anthony St. Pilgrims touch the tomb of St Anthony of Padua. Photos: Lincoln Ho Grandin Media.

Statue at St Anthony's Church in Didsbury. Behind the tomb of St Anthony, many leave behind prayers and other personal items on the wall. You May Like.

Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me… Here mention your request. The answer to my prayer may require a miracle; even so, you are the Saint of Miracles. O gentle and loving Saint Anthony, of whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will be ever yours.

Tweets by Pontifex. Tweets by VaticanNews. We know that not everyone was impressed by his preaching. Legend has it that one day, faced with deaf ears, Anthony went to the river and preached to the fish. Anthony traveled tirelessly in both northern Italy and southern France—perhaps trips—choosing to enter the cities where the heretics were strongeSt. Yet the sermons he has left behind rarely show him taking direct issue with them.

As church historians interpret it, Anthony preferred to present the grandeur of Christianity in positive ways. It was no good to prove people wrong: Anthony wanted to win them to the right, the healthiness of real sorrow and conversion as well as the wonder of reconciliation with a loving father. In he wrote to Anthony asking him to teach his brother Franciscans.

Anthony became the first teacher of the Franciscan order to be given special approval and blessings of St. Anthony continued to preach as he taught the friars and assumed more responsibility within the order. In he was appointed provincial superior of northern Italy, but still found time for contemplative prayer in a small hermitage.

The Pope had been a faithful friend and adviser of St. Naturally, the famous preacher Anthony was invited to speak. He did it humbly, as always. The response was so great that people later said that it seemed the miracle of Pentecost was repeated.

Back in Padua in , Anthony preached his last and most famous Lenten sermons. The crowds were so great—sometimes 30,—that the churches could not hold them, so he went into the piazzas or the open fields. People waited all night to hear him. A bodyguard was needed to protect him from the people armed with scissors who wanted to snip off a piece of his habit as a relic. After his morning mass and sermon, Anthony would hear confessions.

This sometimes lasted all day—as did his fasting and constant prayer. The great energy he had expended during the Lenten season left him exhausted. He went to a little town near Padua to rest and recover, but he soon realized death was coming close and he wanted to return to Padua, the city that he loved. The journey in a wagon weakened him so much, however, that he had to stop at Arcella.

In the end, he had to bless Padua from a distance, as Francis had blessed Assisi from a distance. At Arcella, he received the last sacraments, sang and prayed with the friars there.

He was only 36 and had been a Franciscan for only 10 years. The story and tradition of devotion to St. Anthony of Padua began almost immediately upon his death on June 13, Thousands came to view the body of Anthony and attend his burial.

His grave at once became a place of extraordinary devotion and numerous miracles. The following year, his friend, Pope Gregory IX, moved by the many miracles attributed to him during his life and that occurred at his tomb, declared him a saint.