Why is St Anthony present in almost all churches?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JamalChristophr
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JamalChristophr

Guest
I have noticed a statue of St Anthony of Padua seems to be in all churches. Why is that?
 
I can almost always find the Church. That’s generally not a problem. ☺️
 
Last edited:
JamalChristophr said:
I have noticed a statue of St Anthony of Padua seems to be in all churches. Why is that?
Click to expand...
Perhaps a regional thing. There aren’t any in my area, except at the churches named St. Anthony or the ones with a historic tie to Italy or Franciscans.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
40.png
JamalChristophr:
I have noticed a statue of St Anthony of Padua seems to be in all churches. Why is that?
Click to expand...
Perhaps a regional thing. There aren’t any in my area, except at the churches named St. Anthony or the ones with a historic tie to Italy or Franciscans.
Click to expand...
No, there aren’t any round here either, except in the local Franciscan church.
 
None in my churches here. He’s a much beloved Italian saint, of course, and I saw him in every church in Italy, as well as more historically ethnic Italian neighborhoods in the U.S.
I learned to like St.Tony in Italy, and like many I find the prayer “Tony, Tony, turn around; something’s lost that must be found!” really works!
 
There’s generally going to be a crucifix; at least one if not more Mary statues; a Joseph statue (usually with the Christ child or the infant Christ); possibly other Jesus statues (like a Sacred Heart); and the church’s patron saint, before you get to a St. Anthony. If you still have a high altar, you’re likely to at least have a pair of angel statues as well before you start looking for other saints. In my area, a Therese of Lisieux is more likely to be found than a St. Anthony.

How old or new are the churches you tend to encounter? Most of the ones in my area have been built in the late 19th c-mid-20th c and are relatively small, so if you’re in an area that tends to have larger, more historic churches, perhaps St. Anthony was easier to obtain, and was considered to have a broader appeal— versus, say, a Louis King of France or a St. Cecilia.
 
Guessing it is regional. Around here, I cannot think of one in any parish.
 
If I may ask, what region are you in? im in the American Midwest, and my parish, and 2 of the surrounding parishes have St. Anthony starues
 
I was just noticing St Anthony’s statue in our churches here in Australia last week .Many have him holding the child Jesus as told.
He’s one of my favorite Saints to think of just before the consecration ,remembering the story of when he would be saying the mass and it affected him so strongly…often collapsing when he said the words because of the significance of what was really happening.I ask St Anthony to help me really comprehend.
 
St Francis of Assisi, St Anthony of Padua, and St Therese of Liseaux are popular saints to have in churches, as they are commonly perceived as more approachable. They have a charism.

It will also be more prevalent in areas with Italian influence. St Anthony remains an extremely popular saint in Italy.
 
Last edited:
He’s super-popular with many if not most of the Catholics I know. Especially the Italians. But my Irish mom loved him too because he would help find lost articles.

And yes, I know he’s actually Portuguese, but the Italians have sort of “adopted” him as one of their own, as shown by the millions of Italian guys named Tony.

The only other saint who’s as popular as him in the areas I’ve lived in is St. Therese of Lisieux. The two of them have their statues in more churches than all the other saints combined.
 
Last edited:
Yes, I took one of those pavement rocks home…after climbing hills on it for hours on end 3 days straight I wanted a reminder. It was a loose one I found by the zoo.

Edited to add, I rather like the picture 6 on that artists’ website where St. Anthony is riding the child on his bike. Now, when someone takes the Lord’s name in vain by mentioning Him “on a bike”, I will picture that nice little statue instead.
 
Last edited:
Not in mine. But I get your point. He’s fantastically famous in South India. To the point that people think that he’s a God and Baby Jesus is his son. I’ve heard of people going fanatic over him. I heard from a priest that he got verbally abused because he talked about how people shouldn’t treat medals and religious bracelets worn in honor of St. Antony with superstition.
 
rcwitness said:
Are you mistaken with another Saint related to marriages?
Click to expand...
No, he’s considered a powerful “marriage saint” in Portugal, Spain and Brazil. I believe adgloriam is from Portugal.

He’s not so much a “marriage saint” in places like the USA. Over here, St. Joseph is considered the “marriage saint”. St. Anthony finds lost articles and is a big Italian feast day saint.
 
Google “st anthony patron of marriage”

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

“Koala Mom” is probably not Portuguese, Brazilian or Spanish . I also notice that at least two of the saints she listed are considered “patrons of marital difficulty”, not finding a spouse in general, and St. Thomas More is not considered a “marriage saint” at all. He’s the patron of lawyers.
 
Last edited:
TK421 said:
St Francis of Assisi, St Anthony of Padua, and St Therese of Liseaux are popular saints to have in churches, as they are commonly perceived as more approachable. They have a charism.
Click to expand...
My parish (which is named after none of the above) has statues of all three. 😄
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top