St. Anthony of Padua
A gifted Portuguese scholar who hid his learning by washing dishes in a Franciscan hermitage — until one surprise sermon gave him away, and he spent the last nine years of his short life as the most powerful preacher in Europe.
Timeline of St. Anthony of Padua
- c. 1195
Born in Lisbon
Baptized Fernando, born to a noble family of Lisbon near the cathedral.
- c. 1210
Joins the Augustinian canons
He entered the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in Lisbon, then moved to their great house of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, where he spent years soaking up Scripture and theology.
- 1220
The martyrs of Morocco
The bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs, killed in Morocco, were carried into Coimbra; Fernando left the canons, joined the Franciscans, and took the name Anthony.
- 1221
The Chapter of Mats
After illness ended his own mission to Morocco and a storm blew his ship to Sicily, he joined thousands of friars at the great meeting in Assisi — and was sent, unknown, to the hermitage of Montepaolo.
- 1222
The sermon at Forlì
Asked to preach with no warning at an ordination, he stunned the room — and his learning and his gift with words were hidden no longer.
- c. 1224
Teacher of the friars
With St. Francis's written blessing, he became the first to teach theology to the Franciscans, at Bologna, and preached against false teaching in Italy and southern France.
- 1231
The great Lent of Padua
His daily Lenten sermons drew crowds in the tens of thousands; he heard confessions for hours and won a city law freeing bankrupt debtors from prison.
- June 13, 1231
Dies at Arcella
Worn out at about thirty-five, he died outside Padua, saying, 'I see my Lord.'
- 1232
Canonized within a year
Pope Gregory IX declared him a saint at Spoleto on May 30, 1232, less than a year after his death.
- 1946
Doctor of the Church
Pope Pius XII declared him the 'Evangelical Doctor.'
