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On this Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua, I just had to share an experience that my husband and I had while visiting the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy. We had planned on visiting Rome, Florence and a day trip to Tuscany. Padua was not originally on our schedule. However, while travelling from Rome to Florence on their high-speed train, I saw that a trip to Padua from Florence was only a 90-minute high-speed train ride away. With Saint Anthony of Padua being my all-time favorite saint, I couldn’t travel all the way to Italy and not visit his tomb, when he was only a 90-minute train ride away. So, my husband and I made the trip on June 16, 2011. I’ll never forget this day. As we entered the Basilica, my husband noticed that Saint Anthony’s tomb was immediately to our left. As we approached the tomb, my husband noticed that everyone was heading toward the back side of the tomb. So we followed. Then we saw people touching the tomb. So we followed suit. Wow! What happened ...

This post is by way of making amends to St Anthony of Padua. I must confess that he impinges on my life only when I can't find something. He has never failed me. I do thank him when I find the lost object - and then forget him till the next time. On one occasion when I was doing a mission appeal in the west of Ireland I was chatting with the sacristan. We got around to St Anthony and how he had helped both us of. She then mentioned something that for the life of her she couldn't find. We both prayed to this saint from Lisbon, Portugal, but associated with Padua, Italy. Then we found the lost object - right in front of us in the sacristy! The hymn above was written by a Filipino Franciscan friar, Fr Mariano Montero OFM, and sung at the shrine of St Anthony in Sampaloc, Manila.   This great saint is a doctor of the Church and was known as 'The Hammer of Heretics' . Here is an extract from his writings, part of the reading for the saint's feast day in the Office o...