Anthony's fame spread through Portuguese evangelization, and he has been known as the most celebrated of the followers of Francis of Assisi. He is the patron saint of Padua and many places in
Portugal and in the countries of the former
Portuguese Empire. He is especially invoked and venerated all over the world as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.
North America ) In 1692, Spanish missionaries came across a small
Payaya Indian community along what was then known as the
Yanaguana River on the feast day of Saint Anthony, 13 June. The Franciscan chaplain, Father Damien Massanet, with agreement from General Domingo de Teran, renamed the rivers in his honor, and eventually built
a mission nearby, as well. This mission became the focal point of a small community that eventually grew in size and scope to become the seventh-largest city in the country, the
U.S. city of San Antonio, Texas. In
New York City, the
Shrine Church of St. Anthony in
Greenwich Village,
Manhattan celebrates his
feast day, starting with the traditional
novena of prayers asking for his intercession on the 13 Tuesdays preceding his feast. This culminates with a week-long series of services and a street fair. A traditional Italian-style procession is held that day through the streets of its
South Village neighborhood, during which a
relic of the saint is carried for
veneration. , Poland Each year on the weekend of the last Sunday in August,
Boston's North End holds a feast in honor of Saint Anthony. Referred to as the "Feast of All Feasts",
Saint Anthony's Feast in Boston's North End was begun in 1919 by Italian immigrants from
Montefalcione, a small town near
Naples, where the tradition of honoring Saint Anthony goes back to 1688. print of Saint Anthony, about 1910 Each year the
Sandia Pueblo along with
Santa Clara Pueblo celebrates the feast day of Saint Anthony with traditional Native American dances. On 27 January 1907, in
Beaumont, Texas, a church was dedicated and named in honor of Saint Anthony. The church was later designated a cathedral in 1966 with the formation of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, but was not formally consecrated. On 28 April 1974, St. Anthony Cathedral was dedicated and consecrated by Bishop Warren Boudreaux. In 2006,
Pope Benedict XVI granted the cathedral the designation of minor basilica.
St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica celebrated its 100th anniversary on 28 January 2007. St. Anthony gives his name to
Mission San Antonio de Padua, the third Franciscan mission dedicated along
El Camino Real in
California in 1771. In
Ellicott City, Maryland, southwest of
Baltimore, the Conventual Franciscans of the St. Anthony Province dedicated their old novitiate house as the
Shrine of St. Anthony which since 1 July 2004 serves as the official shrine to Saint Anthony for the
Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Portugal, Spain and Brazil ,
Brazil , northwest of the state of
Rio Grande do Sul,
Brazil. Saint Anthony is known in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil as a marriage saint, because legends exist of him reconciling couples. His feast day, 13 June, is Lisbon's municipal holiday, celebrated with parades and marriages. He is one of the saints celebrated in the Brazilian
Festa Junina, along with
John the Baptist and
Saint Peter. The festivities arount him, specifically, is known as the "Trezena de Junho", or thirteenth of June, when devotion to St. Anthony intensifies in the days leading up to his feast. Saint Anthony is patron saint of at least 105 cities through Brazil, in 10 states, being one of the most venerated saints in that country. In 1918, the region in
Maranhão previously known as "Furo" was renamed as "Porto de Santo Antônio" in his homage, being renamed in 1925 as "
Magalhães de Almeida". He is venerated in Mogán Village in
Gran Canaria, where his feast day is celebrated every year with oversized objects carried through the streets for the fiesta.
The rest of Europe In
Albania, the
Franciscans arrived in 1240 spreading the word of Saint Anthony
(Shna Ndou). The
St. Anthony Church, Laç () in
Laç was built in his honor. Saint Anthony is one of the most important saints amongst Albanians and the pilgrimage to his church is done yearly by a considerable number of Eastern Orthodox and Muslim Albanians as well. Saint Anthony lived and died during the episcopates of Eastern Orthodox
Patriarch Mark III of Alexandria and
Patriarch Nicholas I of Alexandria, both of whom still maintained communion with the Pope of Rome. In the town of
Brusciano, Italy, located near Naples, an annual feast in honor of Saint Anthony is held in late August. This tradition dates back to 1875. The tradition started when a man prayed to Saint Anthony for his sick son to get better. He vowed that if his son would become healthy he would build and dance a
giglio like the people of Nola do for their patron San Paolino during the annual Fest Dei Gigli. (A
giglio is a tall tower topped with a statue of the saint that is carried through the streets in carefully choreographed maneuvers that resemble a dance.) The celebration has grown over the years to include six giglio towers built in honor of the saint. This tradition has also carried over to America, specifically the
East Harlem area of New York, where the immigrants from the town of Brusciano formed the
Giglio Society of East Harlem and have been holding their annual feast since the early 1900s. In
Poland, he is the patron saint of
Przeworsk. The
icon of Saint Anthony, dating from 1649, is housed in a local Franciscan church, . In
Turkey, there is a
Church of St. Anthony of Padua built in 1906-1912. In the
United Kingdom, there is a
St Anthony of Padua, Oxford, built in 1960 in the suburb of
Headington.
J.R.R. Tolkien was a parishioner while he lived nearby.
Asia Saint Anthony is honored in
Uvari, in
Tamil Nadu, India, where legend holds that the crew of a Portuguese ship was cured of cholera through the intercession of St. Anthony. The local church is dedicated to St. Anthony and houses an ancient wooden statue believed to have been carved by one of the crew. In Kerala, where Vasco da Gama had landed in 1498 and where the Portuguese had their first stations in India some of the most ancient churches were renamed after St. Antony and new churches were dedicated to him. In the
Philippines, the devotion to St. Anthony of Padua began in 1581, in the town of
Pila, Laguna, where Franciscans established the first church in the country dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, now elevated as the
National Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua under the
Diocese of San Pablo. In
Siolim, a village in the Indian state of
Goa, St. Anthony is always shown holding a serpent on a stick. This is a depiction of the incident which occurred during the construction of the church wherein a snake was disrupting construction work. The people turned to St. Anthony for help and placed his statue at the construction site. The next morning, the snake was found caught in the cord placed in the statue's hand.
St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade, located in
Sri Lanka, is dedicated to the saint. The church is designated a national shrine and minor basilica. A tiny piece of St. Anthony's tongue is said to be preserved in a special reliquary, which is located in a glass case together with a statue of the saint, at the entrance to the church. File:St. Anthony of Padua.jpg|St. Anthony of Padua in St. Joseph's Church,
Macao File:St. Antony Shrine, Kundara in Kerala State of India.jpg|St Antony Shrine,
Kundara in
Kerala State of
India File:JC Pila 57.JPG|
National Shrine of St. Anthony of Padua,
Pila, Laguna,
Philippines where Franciscans established the first church in the country dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua under the
Diocese of San Pablo Africa Antonianism () was a
syncretic Bakongo Catholic movement formed in the
Kingdom of Kongo between 1704 and 1708 as a development out of the
Roman Catholic Church in Kongo, yet without denying the authority of the
Pope. Its founder was a young charismatic woman named
Beatriz Kimpa Vita who said she was possessed by Saint Anthony of Padua. Beatriz became known for healing and other miracles. It was eventually suppressed by King
Pedro IV of Kongo, and Dona Beatriz was burned at the stake as a heretic. == In art ==