Saint Anthony, Abbot
Feast day: January 17
Saint Anthony, Abbot, an Egyptian hermit who gave up everything to follow God, father of monks (17/01)
Who is he?
Saint Anthony, Abbot, also called Anthony the Great or Anthony of Egypt, was a hermit (someone who lives alone to pray) in Egypt. He is not the same as Saint Anthony of Padua, the young Franciscan priest who holds the Child Jesus. Saint Anthony the Abbot is an old man with a white beard, who lived almost a thousand years before Saint Anthony of Padua.
Life story
Anthony was born around 251 into a fairly well-off Christian family. When he was about 20, his parents died, leaving him farmland, and he had to look after his little sister. One day in church, he heard the Gospel where Jesus tells a rich young man to sell what he has, give to the poor, and come follow him (cf. Mt 19:21). Anthony thought: the Lord is speaking to me. According to Saint Athanasius, he gave his land to the villagers, sold his other belongings to help the poor, entrusted his sister to consecrated virgins to care for her, then went to learn the life of prayer from an old hermit.
Then he went deep into the desert and lived alone in an abandoned fort for about 20 years. He prayed, memorized and meditated on God’s Word, worked with his hands and ate very little. The devil tempted him in every way, but he trusted God and won. When he came out, many people came asking to live near him so he could teach them. So communities of monks gathered around him, which became one of the important beginnings of monastic life.
Although he loved silence, he went to the city of Alexandria twice: once to support Christians arrested for their faith, and once to help the Church against heresy. Later, he withdrew to a mountain near the Red Sea, and he died there in 356, at about 105 years old. Saint Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, wrote a book about his life. That book spread all over the world and helped many people give their lives to God.
Why is he a saint?
Saint Anthony heard God’s Word and acted on it right away, without delay. He chose God over all riches and lived a life of prayer and humility. His example opened the way for thousands of monks and religious in the Church, so he is called the father of monks.
A lesson for you
- When you hear God’s Word at Mass, ask yourself: what does God want to tell me today?
- Practice sharing toys and clothes you don’t need with children who are poor.
- Every day, spend a few minutes in silence talking with God.
Identifying marks
- An old man with long white hair and beard: he lived to about 105 years old in the desert.
- A brown hooded habit tied with a cord: the simple clothing of a monk living in poverty.
- A T-shaped staff with a small bell hanging from it: the best-known sign in pictures and statues of Saint Anthony the Abbot.
- A book in his hand: he lived on God’s Word and taught his disciples to pray.
- A cave among the rocky desert mountains: where he lived as a hermit in Egypt.
- A small pig (*): a sign from the Middle Ages, when the brothers who bore his name raised pigs to care for the sick.
(*) Only in some pictures and statues.
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