St Anthony - A saint of all nations

By Commodore Shemal FERNANDO

In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, the feast of Saint Anthony is celebrated today, June 13. This year, two of the hallowed shrines dedicated to the saint in Sri Lanka mark historical milestones. The renowned St. Anthony's Shrine at Kochchikade in Colombo marks the 175th Jubilee whilst the legendary 'Kale Palliya' - the shrine of St. Anthony at Palakudah in Talavila observe the 300th Jubilee.

St. Anthony is one of the most popular and much loved saints of the Catholic Church. Though he lived a short life of 36 years, he possessed the science of Angels, the faith of the Patriarchs, the fore-knowledge of the Prophets, the zeal of Apostles and the heroism of Mar tyrs. Among the many saints, there is scarcely anyone so well-known, so honoured, so popular and so powerful in answering all types of supplications. His feast is celebrated on June 13, the day he met with his holy death.

St. Anthony is portrayed holding the child Jesus - or a lily - or a book - or all three - in his arms. He seems to have unlimited access to the treasures of God's graces and blessings. He heals the wounds of the body as well as the festering sores of sins in the soul. He advances the temporal, and still more the eternal interests of his devout clients. St. Anthony is the saint of the whole world.

Relics in Sri Lanka

Through the untiring efforts of the Most Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, the 779 year old holy relic of the heart of St. Anthony was brought to Sri Lanka for the first time in March this year. The relic encased in a gold plated bust of St. Anthony was taken to all dioceses for public veneration and left lasting impressions not only amongst the Catholic devotees but also amongst the non Christian brethren who hold the saint so near and dear.

St. Anthony was born the eldest son to an influential family on August 15, 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal (then a part of Spain). The room in which he was born is now a tiny chapel beneath the Church of St. Anthony in Lisbon, near the cathedral. It was there that he was baptised and received the name of Fernando. His parents, Martin and Mary Bulhom had great plans for him.

Religious and Priest

At the age of 15, after much prayer and reflection, he left his rich palatial home and lived in the Augustinian Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons Regular of St. Augustine, the religious order which he joined have always been famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits. It is to the Augustinians that the Saint is indebted for his intellectual formation which made him one of the most learned clerics in Europe.

Fernando thought that he would find the Godly peace which he sought by fleeing the world and joining a religious order but the monastery life was hardly neither peaceful nor conducive to prayer and study, as his friends and relatives visited him frequently. He could not find any peace there, and his studies were adversely affected.

Finally, he pleaded with his superiors for a transfer and they sent him to the Augustinian Abbey of the Holy Cross in Coimbra. There he began long years of intense study, learning Augustinian theology that he would later combine with the Franciscan vision. He was ordained to the priesthood when he was 25 years old.

Warmly towards truth

After his ordination, he was placed in charge of hospitality in his Abbey. It was in this responsibility that he first came in contact with the Franciscans. In 1219, he met five followers of St. Francis who were on their way to Morocco to deliver sermons to the Muslims. He was strongly attracted by their simple Gospel lifestyle.

The life of the young priest took a crucial turn in February 1220, when news arrived that his five Franciscan friends had been martyred in Morocco. They had preached in the mosque in Seville, almost being martyred at the outset, but the Sultan allowed them to go to Morocco, where after continuing to preach the word of Christ despite repeated warnings, they were tortured and beheaded. Their remains had been sent to Portugal and the king ordered them to be placed at Ferdinand's monastery.

He was overjoyed and inspired. He went to the Friars Minor in Coimbra and said, "Brother, I would cultivate the habit of your Order if you would promise to send me as soon as possible to the land of the Saracens, that I may gain the crown of the holy martyrs". After some challenges from the Augustinians, he was allowed to receive the Franciscan habit, taking on the new name Anthony. True to their promise in July 1220, the Franciscans allowed Anthony to go to Morocco, to be a witness for Christ, and a martyr as well.

From Africa to Assisi

Shortly after, Anthony set off ready to die preaching the Gospel in Morocco. He had barely arrived when he contracted a horrible fever which left him semiconscious for weeks. God's plans are mysterious and inexplicable. The gift he wanted to give was not the gift that was to be asked of him. He fell seriously ill, and after several months realised he had to go home. He bid farewell to the beloved land of Africa and set sail for Portugal.

The Lord had even changed the course of his trip. His ship ran into storms and high winds and was blown across the Mediterranean. Months later, he arrived on the East Coast of Sicily. The friars at nearby Messina, welcomed him and began nursing him back to health. Still ailing, he was keen on attending the great assembly of the friars in Assisi. On the feast of Pentecost in 1221, thousands of friars gathered in Assisi from all over Europe in what has come to be known as the Chapter of Mats. There, Anthony listened to the teachings of St. Francis and he was greatly consoled.

Since the young priest was from "out of town," he received no assignment at the meeting. As the friars dispersed, Anthony waited for someone to give him a sign of where he should go. Finally, the Provincial of Bologna, Friar Graziano sent Anthony to a small hermitage. Now, like Francis, he had his first choice - a life of seclusion and contemplation in a hermitage near Montepaolo.

Mission of preaching

There at last, Anthony found the peace which he had sought for so long. He immersed himself in his priestly service to the community. But the Lord had other plans for him. One day, he was asked to attend the celebration of an ordination to the priesthood in the city of Forli. As they gathered for a meal afterward, the provincial suggested that one of the friars give a short sermon.

Everybody ducked. Hence, Anthony was asked to give "just something simple," since he presumably had no formal education. Anthony too demurred, but finally began to speak in a simple, artless way. The fire within him became evident. His knowledge was unmistakable, but sanctity was what really impressed everyone there. His quiet life of prayer and penance at the hermitage was exchanged for that of a public preacher.

Francis heard of Anthony's previously hidden gifts. Anthony travelled tirelessly in Northern Italy and Southern France - perhaps 400 trips - choosing to enter the cities where the heretics were the strongest. Anthony preferred to present the grandeur of Christianity in positive ways. It was no good to prove people wrong and he was determined to win them, the feeling of real sorrow and conversion, the wonder of reconciliation with a loving Father.

Sermon to the fish

Once, Anthony travelled to the city of Rimini it was a hotbed of heresy. The city leaders had ordered everyone to ignore him and no one turned up for his homilies. Wherever Anthony went, he was greeted by silence. Anthony walked praying and reflecting upon what had taken place. As he walked out of the town, he reached the mouth of the Marecchia River where it flows into the Adriatic. Despite his efforts, hardly anybody listened.

He called out, "You, fish of the river and sea, listen to the Word of God because the infidel heretics do not wish to hear it." Hundreds and thousands of fish came to the surface, in an orderly manner to hear the words of exhortation and praise. The people of Rimini, witnessing this miracle, gathered to listen to Anthony. The traditional tale received everyone's attention. St. Anthony's patient confidence, unshakeable faith and unselfish love converted even the hardened sinners.

All things to all people

One of the reasons why Anthony worked so hard to convert heretics was because he felt sorry for them. He saw that they had deprived themselves of the most precious gift of the Eucharist. One day, a heretic told Anthony that he would believe that Christ was truly present in the Eucharist only if his mule bowed. The test took place in three days and the mule ignoring its own extreme hunger went before the Eucharist and knelt to adore the Blessed Sacrament.

There are many other miracles associated with Anthony's ministry, but they should not distract our attention from the fact that his ministry was performed in simple, everyday ways. It was his fervent lifestyle, his prayer, his gentleness, his humble use of learning that brought people to conversion.

Preacher and teacher

Anthony first taught in a friary in Bologna, which became a famous school. The theology book of the time was the Bible. In one extant sermon by the saint, there are at least 183 passages from Scripture. While none of his theological conferences and discussions was written, his method included much of allegory and symbolical explanation of Scripture. He taught theology to the friars in Montpellier, Toulouse and Padua as well.

Anthony and the Child Jesus

By 1231, the many journeys he had made and the many illnesses he had suffered had taken their toll. He was suffering from dropsy and his strength had all but failed him. All throughout the Lent of 1231, he preached to the ever increasing crowds in Padua. The crowds that flocked were so huge that the churches could not hold them, so he went into the piazzas or the open fields. People waited all night to hear him. He needed a bodyguard to protect him from the people armed with pairs of scissors to snip off a piece of his habit as a relic. After his morning Mass and sermon, he would hear confessions.

Around this time Anthony had a premonition of his approaching death. The friars and Count Tiso, invited him to go to a hermitage in nearby Camposampiero, so that he might recover his strength and he responded. There the ground was damp at that time of the year, and it aggravated Anthony's illness.

This problem was solved when the friars noticed Anthony admiring an immense walnut tree and got Tiso to build a small tree house on it.

One night Count Tiso whilst passing by Anthony's room was attracted by a powerful light. He thought that it must be a fire and burst into the room. There he saw Anthony in ecstasy embracing the Infant Jesus. Anthony asked Tiso not to tell anyone about it and Tiso respected the Saint's wishes until after his death.

I see My Lord!

The care of Count Tiso and of the friars was not enough to bring Anthony back to good health. On June 13, 1231, Anthony stepped down from his tree house for his noonday meal with friars. There he collapsed and as the friars supported him, he whispered to them that he wished to be taken to Padua so that he might die there. Padua at the time of Anthony was one of the most important cities in the country.

He longed to spend his last hours in the friary near the Church of Santa Maria which he loved so much. The friars put him on a cart and travelled towards Padua, but he was already too weak to make it. As they approached a Poor Clare monastery in Arcella, they decided that it would be best to take him there.

So, he had to stop at Arcella and to bless Padua from a distance, as Francis had blessed Assisi.

At Arcella, he received the last sacraments, sang and prayed with the friars there. He intoned the hymn to the Blessed Virgin, "O Glorious Queen, exalted above the stars!" The bright eyes of the saint stared straight-away in front of him. When one of them asked Anthony what he was staring at so intently, he answered, "I see my Lord!" Shortly after, he passed away peacefully. He was only 35 and had been a Franciscan but 10 years.

Canonisation

Countless are the miracles by which God glorified his faithful servant especially after his holy death. Stupendous and numerous were the miracles occurring through his intercession that in less than a year after his death, on May 30, 1232, in the Cathedral of Spoleto, he was canonised by Pope Gregory IX.

In the year 1263, the tomb of St. Anthony was opened, that his blessed remains might be transferred to the new sanctuary built in his honour. On opening the coffin it was found that the flesh has fallen into dust, but the tongue has remained fresh and ruddy like that of a living person. St. Bonaventure, then Minister General of the Order was present. When he saw the miracle, he reverently took the tongue in his hands, kissed it and exclaimed, "O Blessed tongue that never ceased to praise God and always taught others to bless him, now we plainly see how precious you are in his sight".

In 1946, Pope Pius XII declared St. Anthony a Doctor of the Church. On this occasion he styled him, "a man not unlike a brilliant star: for, not only by the holiness of his life and the fame of his miracles, but also by the radiant splendour of heavenly doctrine, he has illumined the whole world and even now sheds upon it a brilliant light".

Holy Relics

In 1981, with the permission of Pope John Paul II, a canonical recognition of the body of St. Anthony was conducted. Thus, 750 years after his death, the saint's mortal remains were examined for the second time and measures were taken to conserve them for future generations. For more than a month (January 6 to March 1) countless people venerated the exposed relics.

This recognition revealed that the saint's body, enclosed in a small box within the coffin in which he had been originally buried was in an excellent state of preservation. Today, the vocal apparatus, habit, two coffins and precious clothes are kept in the Chapel of the Treasury of Relics.

Anthony was a simple and humble friar who preached the Good News lovingly and with fearless courage. He became one of the great preachers and theologians of his day. He was a man of great penance and apostolic zeal. But in truth, Saint Anthony is the Saint of All Nations.

The writer is a freelance journalist who has authored many articles. His works on varied subjects have regularly appeared in English newspapers and magazines. He recently visited the Basilica of Saint Anthony which is the most important monument in Padua and one of the most important art treasures in the world.