13-Days Novena 2020 – Saint Anthony, a Saint as a Friend

From May 31 to June 12 Fr. Mario Conte, editorial director of the Messenger of Saint Anthony magazine, and one of the 52 friars who minister in the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy, will present some different types of people who consider the Saint as their faithful, watchful friend; naturally we don’t wish to leave anybody out because, as we all know, St Anthony is a friend and brother of anyone who turns to him.

Thursday 13 June: Solemnity of St Anthony; all the celebrations will be streamed live.

May 25 - A SAINT AS A FRIEND

However, besides all our friends who help and support us, we can also have some very special friends: the Saints in heaven. Some time ago a team of sociologists conducted a survey to find out why so many people (about 4 million a year) come here to the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua to pray at the Tomb of a man, a saint, who died almost 800 years ago. The most frequent answer was, “I come here because this is for me St Anthony’s home, and he is our family friend.”

May 31 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THE FRANCISCANS

Exactly 800 years have passed since friar Anthony began to follow the path of his Franciscan vocation, the path which led him to become one of the world’s best known and loved saints. And today more than ever he continues to be the brother and friend of thousands of Franciscans throughout the world, who are inspired by him both to take the word of God everywhere and to give assistance to the poorest of the poor.

June 1 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF CHILDREN

St Anthony has always had great love for children. Amongst the miracles he worked, both when alive and after his death, many were in their favor. I believe that God has given our Saint the extraordinary task of looking after children and protecting them from heaven. It is, in fact, no mere chance that the Jesus Child chose to be embraced by the saint when the latter was in Camposampiero a few days before his death.

June 2 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

Millions of people throughout the world have always turned to the Saint whenever they have problems in their families because he has always been part of our family, we even have a picture of him on the wall or a little statue on the table in the living room. He is always there for us, ready to intercede for us with the Father.

June 3 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THE ELDERLY

The Bible states that a long life is a blessing from God because it helps us to understand many things. It allows us to face our own fragility, our dependence on others, our communal and family ties, and especially the fact of being sons and daughters of God. St Anthony has always been a friend of the elderly, who always flock to the Basilica in great numbers to ask for a grace, but above all to thank him for his protection, for having always been close to them during their lives, and for helping them to approach that destiny of glory that the Lord is preparing for all of us.

June 4 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THE POOR

Immediately after the Saint’s death numerous charities sustained by the friars arose around the Basilica. During the centuries they have tended to many poor people. In this way numerous little miracles occurred which, even if they did not make the headlines, changed the lives of so many people. In fact Anthony has never left his friars without the donations for the poor made by many generous people.
If you wish to help the friars of the Basilica work in favor of St Anthony for the good of the poor, you may make a donation to St Anthony’s Charities.
https://www.caritasantoniana.org/en

June 5 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THE SICK

There are many miraculous healings performed by the Saint both during his life and immediately after his death, and some of them were immortalized in famous masterpieces. However, many more are the healings obtained through the intercession of the saint by a lot of people who, in the course of the centuries, have left a token of gratitude for the grace received in the form of an object left at the Saint’s Tomb. They are generally small pictures, silver hearts, wax models of the sick part of the body… prostheses and crutches no longer needed because of the grace received.

June 6 - ANTHONY, THE FRIEND OF THOSE WHO THIRST FOR JUSTICE

It was right here in Padua more than in any other city that Anthony showed his great sensitivity to what we today call HUMAN RIGHTS. In this regard it is highly enlightening to read a famous passage from the first biography written on him by an anonymous Franciscan a year after his death: “He called back to brotherly peace those who disagreed with each other, and gave freedom to those who were imprisoned. He required that whatever was taken in usury or through violence be handed back.”

June 7 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF THOSE SEEKING A SPOUSE

The tradition of turning to the Saint in order to find one’s soulmate is well known in Portugal and in Latin America. Pope Francis recalled this a few years ago during a friendly meeting with a group of students from Padua: “In Argentina we have great veneration for St Anthony; he is the patron of girls looking for boyfriends.”

June 8 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF THE DISABLED

The Saint has always had great love for the disabled, and in one of his sermons he writes, “Man was made in the image and likeness of God.” “Each one of us is worth what he is in the eyes of God, and certainly not for what he possesses in terms of material goods or physical attributes.”

June 9 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF THE UNEMPLOYED

In Anthony’s times, rather than being a right, work was an obligation. Naturally St Anthony’s primary concern was to assert the very few rights that the poor had. Humble and simple people were continually exploited by cruel, heartless overlords. He was the only one who was able to confront them openly with a boldness, courage and determination that was uncommon in those days.

June 10 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF WOMEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

St Anthony saw women in a totally different way from his contemporaries. He did not see them as objects belonging to their male masters, or as ignorant house servants who had to work from dawn to dusk. Anthony saw women as unique and special creatures of God. Not only did he always treat them with great respect, he often set aside important tasks in order to come to their aid. In his Sermons we have ample evidence of how he often exalted feminine qualities, and used these qualities to illustrate aspects of God’s nature.

June 11 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF PRISONERS

St Anthony and his Franciscan brothers often visited the imprisoned. He befriended them, brought them food, and whenever he could, he would also help their families. But Anthony fought mainly against unjust laws and, as we know, in 1231 he was instrumental in having the Supreme Council of Padua mitigate a law against insolvent debtors.

June 12 - ANTHONY, FRIEND OF CREATION

Anthony saw nature in a very similar way to that of St Francis, however, besides admiring nature, creation and animals… he also knew them well from a scientific point of view, naturally according to the knowledge of that time. It is not uncommon, in fact, to find in his Sermons specific references to Natural History.