Vintage Pocket relic of Saint Antony of Padua

Vintage Pocket relic of Saint Antony of Padua

Size: 5.8 cm L x 3.8 cm W

Anthony of Padua, OFM, born Fernando Martins de Bulhões (15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor.

The story of Anthony "preaching to the fish" originated in Rimini, where he had gone to preach. When heretics there treated him with contempt, Anthony was said to have gone to the shoreline, where he began to preach at the water's edge until a great crowd of fish was seen gathered before him. The people of the town and even heretics flocked to see this marvelous thing and were moved to listen to Anthony's preaching.

In another often-told story, which took place also in Rimini, Anthony was challenged by a heretic to prove the reality of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The man, who sought to mock Anthony, brought out a half-starved mule and showed it fresh fodder. Saint Anthony showed the mule the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. The mule ignored the fodder and bowed before the Blessed Sacrament. The Tempietto of Sant'Antonio marks the spot where the miracle took place. Other versions of this miracle place it in Toulouse or Bourges.