This past Saturday, 13 June 2020, was the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua, a Catholic saint who lived from 1195 to 1231 AD. Since he is the saint for whom I was named, I thought I would share a little bit about him.

Detail from Celtic Saint Anthony of Padua by Ann M. Lorenc ©

Originally named Ferdinand de Bulhoes, Saint Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal during the reign of King Alfonso II of Portugal. His early years were spent studying with the priests of the Lisbon cathedral. Initially he stayed close to home in his career, joining the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine at the age of fifteen before transferring to a priory at Coimbra in 1212 because he felt the visits of his friends were too distracting. He was ordained around 1219 or 1220, and joined the Franciscans a year later, where he took on the name Anthony.

At the start of his Franciscan ministry in 1221, Anthony went to Morocco and preached to the Moors. Within a year, however, he became too ill to continue and returned to Italy. Soon after, he delivered a sermon at the hospice of San Paoli near Forli and was then told to preach throughout Italy. His sermons gathered large crowds all over Italy and he became widely successful both as a confessor and in recruiting converts. Over time he was given the appointment of first lecturer of theology for the Franciscan order and the envoy to Pope Gregory IX. He eventually sought, and received, a release of his official duties from Pope Gregory IX so that he could focus solely on preaching.

Anthony chose to reside in Padua—located in the north-eastern province of Padua, Italy— where he immediately began working to end the wrongs and corruption he found. His efforts, along with his firey and eloquent sermons led the city to reform, however he continued to seek out ways to continue improving Padua. Some of these included assisting with the city’s poor, attempting to close debtors’ prisons, and reforming the heretics. Eventually, he became overwhelmed with exhaustion and dropsy, forcing him to take time away in Camposanpiero in 1231. He set off to return later that year, but died before reaching Padua on 13 June 1231 at Arcella in a Poor Clare’s convent. He was just thirty-six years old.

Anthony was declared a saint the following year in 1232 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1946 by Pope Pius XII. Since his death, there have been many stories of miracles attributed to Saint Anthony which earned him the title of ‘Wonder Worker’. He considered to be the patron saint of the poor and the oppressed and is often asked for his intercession in locating lost articles. I know that I have often asked for his assistance in finding things that I have lost and so far he has always come through for me!

Celtic Saint Anthony of Padua by Ann M. Lorenc ©Brush & Ink on Bristol Smooth — *Celtic Saint Anthony of Padua* by Ann M. Lorenc ©
Brush & Ink on Bristol Smooth

Of course, Saint Anthony being the saint for whom I was named, I was compelled to create a portrait of him: ‘Celtic Saint Anthony of Padua’.

The second piece in my Celtic Saints series, the brush and ink portrait shows Saint Anthony of Padua holding the Christ Child and a book, both traditionally appearing in art depicting the saint. Because he had such a love for the Christ Child, I wanted to show a less formal interplay between the Christ Child and Saint Anthony, which is why the Christ Child appears to be giving the saint a hug.

Saint Anthony is also represented by Easter lilies, so I incorporated them into the border using the same concept as the Celtic tree of life. The hammers on the book shown on top of the bowl refers to his title as 'The Hammer of the the Heretics'. To represent the Trinity, there are two triquetra knots at the bottom and the spiral motif behind Saint Anthony and the Christ Child. The two large spiraled circles located in the bottom corners depict the balance between fire, which symbolizes inspiration, and earth which symbolizes the ability to stay grounded.

Extra Point of Interest: While I knew that Saint Anthony of Padua was a fairly popular saint, I was pleasantly surprised to see how often he is depicted throughout Scotland. I had the opportunity to hike to the ruins of Saint Anthony’s Chapel in Holyrood Park while I was in Edinburgh a few years back doing family research.