St. Anthony of Padua

June 13 is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), the Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church venerated as the patron of lost things. Born Fernando de Bulhões in Lisbon, he entered the Augustinian canons at São Vicente de Fora, then transferred to the Franciscans in 1220 after seeing the relics of the first Franciscan martyrs carried through Coimbra. He died at Padua on June 13, a year after his famous sermon to the fish at Rimini, and was canonized less than a year later — one of the fastest canonizations in history.

The Basilica of St. Anthony at Padua, begun the year of his death, holds his tomb in the chapel of the tongue — so called because when his body was exhumed in 1350, his tongue was found incorrupt, a sign of the preaching gift. The basilica is one of the most visited in Italy, and pilgrims touch the tomb of the saint in the dark ambulatory behind the high altar. The saint's cell at the Franciscan convent of Camposampiero, where he died, is preserved as a chapel.

Anthony is the saint of the people. The "St. Anthony's bread" — a votive offering of bread given in thanksgiving for a found thing — began in the 13th century and continues today. From Lisbon, where the cathedral keeps his baptismal font, to Padua, where his body lies, the June 13 feast is kept by the Franciscan family and by the countless who have lost something and asked his help.