While many know Saint Anthony as the patron saint of lost items, his life reveals much more — he was also a powerful preacher, a theologian of brilliance, and a servant of the poor. Anthony’s greatness was hidden behind humility. When no one was prepared to preach at an ordination, he reluctantly stepped forward. Years of prayer, Scripture study , and self-giving had prepared him. What followed was a sermon so Spirit-filled it stunned all who heard it.
He was sent to preach to the heretics (Albigensians) in France, and his learning and zeal converted many. He was the first friar to teach theology to the friars. In his final days, he withdrew to a hermitage to prepare for death, dying in Padua on June 13, 1231. Canonized within a year and named a Doctor of the Church in 1946, Anthony reminds us that to find ourselves, we must lose ourselves in Christ. His life calls us to live the Gospel — not only in word, but in action.
May we, like him, help the world rediscover what it has lost: faith, hope, love, and the face of Christ in every person.
