Saint Anthony of Padau

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Saint Anthony of Padau
Saints come from all around the world. Each one is unique in its very own way. But for me, I’ve been focusing on one in particular. The saint I am focusing on is Saint Anthony of Padua.
I have chosen Saint Anthony because of two things: what he is the patron saint of. The patronages of Anthony that I am focusing on are lost articles and animals. I am focusing on lost articles because I often lose things, so I find myself praying to him quite a bit. The reason Anthony is patron of lost items is because one day while in Bologna, he had a book of psalms. The book of psalms had then been stolen. Upon finding this out, Anthony prayed to God that it be returned. The next day, the thief returned the book, and Anthony was forever grateful. I am focusing on animals because animals are a very big part of my life and they make very happy. That’s why I thank Anthony for keeping watch over all my pets and for keeping them safe. It is most noted that the reason he is patron of animals is that he was a very good companion and assistant to Frances of Asisis.
Anthony was born as Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal on August 11, 1195. His parents were Vincente Martins and Teresa Pais Taveira. Growing up, Fernando’s family was very rich and noble, and well known around the city. Because of having so much money, when Fernando was fifteen, his family arranged him to attend school at a local cathedral. This school was taught by Canons Regulars, priests living together under the rule of Saint Augustine, making the cathedral he attended the Augustinian of Saint Vincent. After attending the cathedral for two years, he requested to be transferred to the motherhouse of congregation, the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra. Coimbra wa...

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...d, he transferred Anthony to Fransiscan Order of Romagna in Bologna. Being so exceptional in scripture learning, the founder of the group, Saint Frances of Asisi, was very impressed. He thought that Anthony was a kindred spirit, and because of this, he trusted Anthony with all the studies for any of his friars.
Anthony had died June 14, 1231, dying at the age of 36. His death was caused by a disease for popular back then, known as Ergotism. On May 30, he was venerated by Pope Gregory IX at Sopleto. His body is buried in the church of Santa Maria Mater Domini.
I think Saint Anthony was very important to our religion. He struggled a bit to become a disciple of Jesus, but he succeeded. He teaches us that if we lose something, we should never give up looking for it. He will guide us to find it. He guides us even today, to find our right path to become children of God.

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