St Anthony of Padua was born in Portugal in 1195. He is known for his simplicity and responding teaching of the faith. He was a gifted speaker who attracted crowds everywhere he went, speaking in multiple tongues. He was also known as “Hammer of the Heretics” for protecting against the lies and the deceit of the Christian doctrine. Anthony died in 1231 at the age of 36 and was canonised a year later. He is one of the most beloved of saints, his images and statues are found everywhere – though none of them portray him as a heavy-set man, which some reports claim he was. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. Anthony is the patron saint of lost items.
