Death in Padua, Italy of the early Franciscan saint Anthony of Padua, who was born in Lisbon ca 1195 in a very wealthy family.
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Why do I dedicate a post to him ? Because of a very early and fond memory.
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In pre-Vatican II days, the veneration of saints was a prime activity of the faithful. Sometimes one had the impression that people were more devoted to the saints than to the Great Master of the Universe or Jesus himself.
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The trio of most popular saints was Our Lady, St Anthony, Ste Rita. They had a vast advance over the zillion other saints.
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Rare were the houses which did not hold a statuette or an image of the saints. Many people had medals (we called them scapulars) on them for protection against evil and temptation.
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St Antony was - and is - the patron of lost causes. Many people, for whom the church is a very distant memory, still "pray" to the saint or turn his statue face to the wall until they find what was lost. But I must say the turning of the saint was a trick taught to us by an old very pious bigoted lady (bigot is not the correct translation for kwezel, but once more, my dictionary lets me down).
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I hate bigotry and idolatry, but sometimes, just sometimes that trick seems to work ... the power of mind over matter ? Who knows.
2 comments:
There are a number of St Anthony's and people did not always make the distinction.
The image of St Anthony with a pig was very popular, but that was another Anthony altogether.
De St Antonius die - voor zover ik mij kan herinneren - in een nis boven de kerkdeur in Okegem staat (stond ?) was St Antonius Abt, de heremijt met het varken. Een woestijnvader uit de eerste eeuwen van het christendom.
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