Canonization of St. Anthony: miracles and devotion

In the days following the blessed passing of Friar Anthony, numerous and astounding miracles were attributed to the intercession of the highly popular friar.

During the celebration of the canonization ceremony, in Lisbon, the Saint's birthplace, the church bells rang out in joy, without any human hand moving them, to the surprise and joy of all the inhabitants.

Miraculous Events

These miraculous events increased devotion among all social classes of the citizenry, in neighboring towns and in the most distant lands, and favored the continuous influx of many pilgrims, the multiplication of accounts of miraculous events, the growth of enthusiasm, and the spread of a true and proper cult, which corresponded to a *de facto* canonization by the people, and a general mobilization to see Anthony's holiness recognized by the Pope.

Responding to this unanimous desire, even before a month had passed since the Saint's death, the religious and civil authorities sent a delegation to Rome consisting of eminent religious and lay figures, to present to the pontiff the petition of the entire city—bishop, clergy, podestà, nobles, and common people—to obtain the initiation of a formal process regarding the holiness and the miracles attributed to Anthony.

The delegation was received by Gregory IX, the pope who had known Anthony well. Anthony had gone to Rome to ask the pope's judgment on certain debated questions among the friars, and the pope had been so fascinated by his eloquence and depth of doctrine that he defined him as the "Ark of the Testament" and the "Treasury of the Holy Scriptures". The elderly pontiff could only rejoice in hearing the fame of holiness that surrounded Friar Anthony and in seeing such wondrous fruits mature. He therefore immediately convened the college of cardinals to discuss the request of the Paduan embassy and to initiate the canonization process.

The first phase of this canonical process, which was among the shortest on record lasting less than eleven months (July 1231 - May 1232), was the establishment of a diocesan tribunal in Padua. To form this, the pope chose the city's bishop, Jacopo, the Benedictine prior Giordano Forzaté, and the Dominican prior Giovanni da Vicenza, giving them the task of listening to and examining the testimonies regarding Anthony's virtues and collecting and scrutinizing all episodes deemed miraculous and attributed to his intercession.

Once the work of the tribunal, conducted with diligence and swiftness by the three commissioners, was completed in February 1232, the bishop and the podestà sent a new delegation to the pope, consisting of canons, friars, magistrates, and nobles, which transmitted the "dossier" and effectively pleaded the cause.

Gregory IX immediately moved to the second phase of the cause, instituting the apostolic process and entrusting its presidency to the Cardinal of St. Sabina, Giovanni d'Abbeville, formerly a Benedictine monk of Cluny and abbot of the monastery of St. Peter d'Abbeville. He completed the process in a very short time and with a favorable outcome. The pope, who had been in Spoleto since early May 1232, decreed that the canonization of Friar Anthony would take place on May 30th, the feast of Pentecost, in the splendid Spoleto Cathedral, risen from the ruins of Barbarossa and consecrated about thirty years earlier (1198) by Innocent III.

The Solemn Rite of Canonization

The long-awaited day finally arrived. Spoleto, which had already experienced extraordinary excitement in the preceding days, lived an unforgettable and unique experience, both for the event itself and for the many illustrious figures who gathered in the cathedral to pay Friar Anthony the first honors of the altars: first of all, Gregory IX, wrapped in all the magnificence of the pontifical vestments and accompanied by members of the papal court; then the cardinals, bishops, and high prelates, who formed a circle around the pope; next, along with the heads of the various religious orders, a large representation of the Franciscan family led by Friar Elias—elected Minister General a few days earlier in Rieti in the presence of the pope—and particularly happy to see the first saint of the Order after the founder recognized; furthermore, the representatives of the clergy and authorities of Padua and many other nearby and distant cities; finally, a multitude of rejoicing people that the large cathedral, decorated for the festival in an entirely exceptional manner, could not contain.

The solemn pontifical mass with the rite of canonization took place according to the practice of the time, which provided for five moments. First, the pontiff delivered an allocution to exalt the virtues and merits of Anthony. Then a cardinal or a cleric of the papal court recited the miracles obtained through the intercession of the candidate for canonization and authenticated in the processes. At this point, and it was the culminating moment of the ceremony, Gregory IX stood up and in the name of the Holy Trinity pronounced the solemn formula by which he enrolled Anthony in the catalog of the saints: "To the praise and glory of almighty God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and in honor of the Roman Church, we venerate on earth the most blessed father Anthony, whom the Lord has glorified in heaven, having accepted the favorable opinion of our brothers and the other prelates, decreeing that his name be inscribed in the catalog of the saints and that his feast be celebrated on June 13th".

Pius XII, with his apostolic letter "Exulta, Lusitania felix, o felix Padua gaude", of January 16th, solemnly proclaimed him a universal doctor of the Church, confirming and extending to the entire Church the cult of doctor that the Saint had already enjoyed since the day of his canonization; or as recently, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the Saint's birth (1995), when the friars of Padua organized a "pilgrimage" of some relics of St. Anthony throughout Italy, also touching seven cities in Umbria: Terni, Foligno, Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio, Città di Castello, and Spoleto, where the venerated remains rested on September 13th.

Devotion to St. Anthony has grown in an unstoppable crescendo; it is more alive than ever and has spread throughout the world. St. Anthony continues to draw great crowds and to offer everyone, as a true friend, his message, his protection, and his blessing.

The Bull of Canonization

"... Since the Lord says through the Prophet: I will make all peoples celebrate your praises and crown you with glory and honor, and since He promises that the righteous will shine like the sun in the presence of God; it is a pious and just thing that on earth we surround with our veneration, and praise and honor, those whom God crowns with holiness and honors in heaven.

Of this number is the Blessed Anthony of holy memory, of the Order of Friars Minor, who, as long as he lived on earth, appeared adorned with the most beautiful virtues, and now that he is in heaven shines with the splendor of countless miracles, so that his holiness may be clearly demonstrated.

Made certain of his virtues and his outstanding miracles, and having ourselves otherwise appreciated the holiness of his life and the wonders of his ministry on another occasion, we have found it right and good to inscribe him in the Catalog of the Saints.

Since Blessed Anthony has become in this world such a bright lamp that, by the grace of God, he has merited being placed not under a bushel, but on the immortal candlestick of the Catholic Church, we pray to you all and ardently exhort you with these apostolic letters, nay, we order you, that, promoting the devotion of the faithful and veneration towards him, you celebrate his feast every year on the 13th day of June and take care to have it celebrated with great solemnity.

(Given at Spoleto on the 23rd day of June 1232, the sixth year of Our Pontificate. Gregory Pope IX.)"