“Did he pray?” «Yes, she prayed to Saint Anthony because he helps people find lost umbrellas and other wardrobe items». It is the incipit of a poem by Eugenio Montale, which in two lines summarizes the most widespread popular devotion in the world: that for “Holy” par excellence, as they say in Padua, in a hat-trick with the «Cafe without doors» (the historic venue Pedrocchi coffee) and the «lawn without grass» (Prato della Valle, one of the largest squares in Europe).
Who was
Fernando de Bulhoes (this was the name of Saint Anthony) was born in Lisbon in 1195 in an elegant building where the church named after him now stands, in the district of Alfama. After traveling for a long time (for this reason it is considered the patron saint of travellers), The 13 June 1231 he died in Padua. At a very young age, he became a Franciscan friar and visited many convents. He went in Africa to preach but there he fell ill and wanted to return to Portugal. During the sea crossing, the ship sinks, he is shipwrecked and arrives at Messina. From there it goes back to Italy, stopping at Assisi where he personally met Saint Francis, then continuing he came into contact with some Emilian friars and stopped at Forlì for a period. The faithful discovered his gifts as a preacher, a fame that brought him to the south of France and above all to northern Italy, near Paduain Camposampiero, where he died on 13 June 1231.
Saint Anthony was considered a saint during his lifetime, for the miraculous resolutions of cases, very often related to family and relationships. He was proclaimed a saint “by evidence” just 11 months after his death: the fastest case of canonization in the history of the Church. For all his wanderings he is also considered the patron saint of travellers.
According to the Portuguese, that of Padua is an embezzlement and also a Lisbon The June 13th it is a patronal celebration, as indeed throughout the nation. Nobody works and we celebrate solemnly with religious processions along the streets and squares of Portuguese cities with spectacular popular marches composed of groups of people who carry in procession, singing and playing, images of the saint, pennants, flowers and written mottos. It is also the day when many couples get marriedwhose rite takes place in a collective ceremony, sometimes also financially assisted by the Municipality. In Portugal in every church there is a statue of Saint Anthony and tradition has it that on June 13th the sardinhas assadas, grilled sardines, with a side of tomato and pepper salad. It is hardly necessary to say that Saint Anthony is represented in many azulejosthe blue-patterned majolica tiles that decorate almost all of Portugal.
Obviously also to Padua June 13th is equally a big holiday: factories and offices stop up to the first urban belt; people organize themselves to participate in the religious celebrations, to express votes, light candles and candles, arrive first in the churchyard. They even leave in small groups on foot, walk all night for dozens of kilometres, even come from the outskirts to take first morning mass and line up to pray in front of the Saint’s tomb, touch it with their hand, bring ex-votos or ask a grace and at the end of the celebrations have breakfast To the Pellegrinothe café near the basilica which also sells the famous «Dolce di Sant’Antonio».
13, The lucky number
In Padua the solemnity of Saint Anthony is preceded by «thirteen»: we prepare for the holiday, that is, 13 days earlier, instead of the usual nine days of the novena. The devotion originates from the popular belief that the May the Saint grant thirteen graces to his devotees every day and also by the fact that his feast occurs on the 13th of June; so, thanks to him, 13 has become a number that brings good luck. The prayer to be recited was published in November 1902 and the traditional formula includes 13 invocations. However, the best-known prayer, associated with Saint Anthony and recited throughout the world to implore the finding of lost things, as recalled by Montale’s poetry, It’s called «Si Quaeris Miracula», which means «If you seek miracles». It was composed in Latin by the Blessed Giuliano da Spira, perhaps around 1235. In the gallery above the rites for the feast of the Saint
June 13th Big Party
The June 13, in the Basilica del Santo in Padua there are masses at various hours of the day but above all, in the afternoon at 5pm, there is a procession which is literally a river of faithful that winds and advances to the center of Padua, under Palazzo Moroni, the seat of the Municipality and the University of the Bo, with musical groups, historical associations and equestrian orders, migrant communities in their ethnic clothes, (the Saint, for example, is also very important for the Sinhalese community, which also gathers here from all over Italy on May 1st for a heartfelt celebration), and then returns to the Basilica passing through Prato della Valle. The crowd welcomes the statue of the Saint transported by a special vehicle of the State Police, used exclusively for this occasion.
For the people of Padua, Sant’Antonio is the central point of reference for social and religious life and when organized crime, in 1995, stole the relic containing the tongue, there were prayer vigils to hope for their discovery. That news story inspired director Carlo Mazzacurati to make the film The language of the Saintwith Antonio Albanese and Fabrizio Bentivoglio. In fact, among the relics of Saint Anthony still venerated in the basilica of Padua, the most precious is, precisely, his sacred uncorrupted tongue, to ask and obtain forgiveness for all sins committed verbally.
Finally, the “Great Prayer to Saint Anthony” defines him as a “white and sweet lily” (it is the characteristic flower which in sacred iconography and hagiography is associated with Saint Anthony, always depicted with a lily in his hand”. In the same prayer the saint is defined as “the shining light of Portugal and Italy”.
Protects everywhere
In short: whether from Padua or Lisbon, Saint Anthony is by far the best known saint with the most devotees in the world and this is also demonstrated by the newsletter printed monthly by the friars conventual, a widespread publication in every nation of the globe. It goes without saying, however, that “from” is generally used to indicate the hometown (and for Lisbon the preposition is fully valid), however in the case of Padua, that “from” means that he is buried. Saint Anthony is protector: from the homesfrom the families and of wedding promisesfrom the pregnant womenof the travellersof the animals. Every 13 June in the cathedral of Lisbon, near the birthplace of the Saint where a small church now stands, dozens of weddings are celebrated. In that same church, in 1982 Pope John Paul II said and left it written (there is still a souvenir photo of him) that «St. Anthony is the Saint of the whole world». With all due respect to geographical affiliations.
The rites and prayers for Saint Anthony
If you have lost a cherished item and can’t find it «Yes Quaeris Miracula» it is the prayer to be recited to Saint Anthony, famous throughout the world for finding lost things: from everyday objects to important documents. This prayer of praise – or responsory – was composed by Bro Giuliano da Spira in 1233. But how does it work?
According to the ritual when are you looking for an object (or even an answer?) you have to recite the prayer and then wait for the signs and interpret them. There were and are people more capable of listening and reading them. On this article a lady talks about her experience. If after receiving the prayer you saw a catfor example, the item had been stolen, a dog it meant the item was safe and you would find it, but it doesn’t always work that way… there are many signs. In the meantime, here’s the prayer.
Yes quaeris miracula mors, error, calamitas, dæmon, lepra fugiunt, ægri surgunt healthy. Cedunt sea, vincula, limbs, resque loss petunt, et accipiunt juvenes, et dogs. Pereunt pericula, cessat et necessitas; narrate hi, here heard, say Paduani.
If you are looking for miracles, death, error, calamity and the devil are put to flight, the sick become healthy. The sea calms down, the chains break; the young and the old find lost things. Dangers recede, needs disappear; anyone who has experienced the protection of the Saint of Padua can attest to this.
To find a boyfriend
There is a Portuguese prayer to be addressed to Saint Anthony which translated into Italian sounds more or less like this: «Make me realistic, confident, worthy and joyful, make me find a boyfriend who I like, who is hard-working, virtuous and responsible».
A ritual that mixes the sacred with the profane, always aimed at Saint Anthony, comes from Brazil (where with the Portuguese colonizations the cult of the saint spread considerably). TO Barbalha Ceara a celebration is held for unmarried women who, if they have faith, will put an end to their singleness within the year. The festival includes the presence of the statue of Sant’Antonio on one side and the «pau da nereira» on the other, that is, a long pole that recalls the male sexual organ obtained from a tree trunk which is carried on the shoulders in procession by at least 150 men and which women looking for boyfriends are invited to touch and rub at least 10 times.
If you are about to get married
There is a prayer in particular to be addressed to Saint Anthony: «Bless me and my husband (or my wife): let us never lack work and everything necessary to be able to live honestly and to be able to educate our children . He ensures that we are able to understand them and guide them with word and example so that they always aspire to the most beautiful ideals.”
Source: Vanity Fair
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