13 DAYS NOVENA 2022

In the thirteen days preceding the feast of St Anthony, become a pilgrim with Father Mario and let him guide you to discover the Basilica of St. Anthony!

Dear friends of St. Anthony, welcome to Padua, the city where our beloved Saint died in 1231.
In the thirteen steps of our tour I will try to help you appreciate the beauty of the Basilica Complex, but in addition to this I will try to understand with you the faith, love and spirituality that the great figure of St. Anthony has managed to transmit to the authors of the great works of art that we will see.

Second video for the 13-day Novena in honor of Saint Anthony. Today we are at the Oratory of St. George, a real 14th century jewel which, since 2021, has been included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Sites.

The School of the Saint building, also known as Scoletta, is the headquarters of the Arch-Confraternity of Saint Anthony.
The Arch-Confraternity was created almost immediately after Anthony’s death in 1231, to continue, at least in part, his apostolate. The purposes of the Arch-Confraternity are very simple: the spiritual formation of its members, the spreading of devotion to St. Anthony, and the practice of charity, because, as St. Anthony says, “Charity is the soul of faith, it makes it alive. Without love, faith dies.”

Our spiritual tour today takes us in the four Cloisters in St. Anthony’s Basilica, each with his unique history and importance.
Did you know that there is an additional, small one, that we friars call the Cloister of ""Paradise"" because it was once the friars’ cemetery?

Today fr. Mario will take you inside the Basilica, the home of St. Anthony. It is in the form of a Latin cross with three naves. The whole appears magnificent with a superb balance between austere Romanesque and slender Gothic elements. The walls and pillars are covered with altars, funeral monuments, tombstones, frescos and paintings.

Do you know where exactly was St. Anthony buried, and why were his remains later removed? In our journey today we will discover it! Follow us in this 13 steps spiritual journey.

Our journey continues in the chapel of Blessed Luke Belludi. Who was the friar whose mortal remains rest in the tomb above the altar? Come with us to find out.

Fr. Mario takes us today in the long corridor which runs behind the High Altar. There are 8 chapels all dedicated to different Saints, and in the central part is the sumptuous Chapel of Relics. Let's discover them all together.

Fr. Mario takes us today in the Chapel of St. James, located to the right of the High Altar. A pictorial masterpiece of the late 14th century, the chapel houses an extraordinary cycle of frescoes by Altichiero da Zevio, the greatest Italian painter of the time.

Our spiritual tour continue with the Sacristy and the Chapter Hall, the place where in the past the friars of the Basilica would gather to talk about their fraternal life.

Continuing the journey, we have arrived now in front of the High Altar. Here are concentrated the bronze masterpieces created by Donatello in the almost ten years he worked in the Basilica from 1444.
There are about thirty works by Donatello, all of extraordinary artistic value. Follow us to discover them all.

Last appointment with our spiritual tour. We are today at the Chapel of St. Anthony. We hope that this short visit to the Basilica of Saint Anthony has made you too pilgrims to the Saint’s home at least for a while. And we also hope that you now feel him more as your friend, your brother, a dear person to whom you can always turn with confidence, knowing that he listens to you; he always listens to your prayers. See you tomorrow for the Feast of our beloved Saint!