One of the top few most precious pilgrimage sites I've ever been to is this site: the Basilica del Santo ('il Santo" as the locals call it), the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua.
When you're in Rome be sure to visit here. It's just four hours from Roma Termini. Take the Eurostar for 54 euro each way. You can stop in Florence and Bologna, too.
This Basilica is one of the world's most important art treasures and one of Christianity's most popular shrines. Great miracles are witnessed here each day.
The outside is Romanesque and the inside is Gothic. It's dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua who was born around 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal, and died in Padua in 1231. The next year, in 1232, they began construction of this church.
The sumptuous interior has tombs of military leaders, scholars, nobles and clergymen. The altar-tomb of St. Anthony was designed in 1594. In 1981, 750 years after he died, the tomb of St. Anthony was opened. When he died he was about forty years old. When they opened his tomb they discovered that his vocal apparatus was found to be intact. This complemented St. Bonaventure's discovery of the Saint's incorrupt tongue during the first recognition of the body in 1263.
It's a great honor to see in this church, in the Treasury Chapel, St. Anthony's incorrupt vocal chords, incorrupt tongue, his jaw bone, some hair, skin and clothing in the reliquaries surrounded by the ex voto objects left by pilgrims as a tribute of favors/miracles granted.
At his tomb, as seen in the photo, be assured that I prayed for you, readers of this blog and all readers of Catholic blogs.
9 comments:
"Great miracles are witnessed here each day."
That's quite a claim! Can you tell us some of the ones you witnessed the day you were there? Is there a website or some other source where we can find out more about these daily events? Thanks!
When you visit be sure to see the Chapel with the Saint's Tomb, but also see the Chapel of Benedictions where the faithful receive blessings as well as the Chapel of the Treasury with the relics.
With each miracle, many faithful leave "ex voto" objects. See them purchased each day in the gift shop and left on the wall in gratitude for favors granted.
As everybody knows, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost objects. Study his life in Butler's Lives of the Saints. Ask for his holy intercession with any object lost.
Thank you for your prayers.
If you are still in Padua, could you visit the friary of St. Leopoldo Mandic and take some pics?
Thank you for this photo of the tomb of one of my favourite Saints! My Mom had a great devotion to him also, and I really appreciate his assistance in finding lost things, especially where I sometimems put my glasses & forget them! Sometimes he'll in- ject a touch of humour by locating them on top of my forehead! Anyway, I also appreciate your prayers -- isn't the Communion of Saints terrific!!!
I experienced a miracle at The Basilica some years ago. I was on tour from Australia and visited holy places in Europe and Israel. At all those places I prayed for myself and others. If I visited a shrine with some connection to a loved one I prayed a special prayer eg at places that honoured St Paul I prayed for my sister Pauline. I was named in honour of Our Lady as was my best friend who honoured me by choosing me as Godmother for two of her children. I prayed for her at many places. The night we were at Mass at the tomb of St Anthony I had not thought of my friend. Fr Bob our chaplain had a terrible migraine and was struggling saying Mass. The church was busy with people visiting on their way home. Prayer and meditation were difficult. In the middle of mass I felt a tap on my shoulder and a voice said, "Pray for Genni (the name by which my friend was known to most people) here. I can help her". I prayed very hard. That night I wrote to her father as I was sure that something must have happened. When I arrived home four weeks later her father filled in the details. On receiving my letter, Mike had contacted the Italian consulate in Melbourne to find out the time difference between Melbourne and Padua. At the time of my experience in the Church my friend was having a minor operation. She was for a time clinically dead before being revived. On recovery she and others were discussing near death experiences. Others who had had such experirnces talked of seeing a bright light but being sent back by an angel. Genni was complaining that her path to the light was blocked by a monk in a ragged habit who told her she could not leave yet. Too many people needed her and her work was not finished. Everyone else sees an angel and I see a monk, she was telling everyone. On hearing from her father about my letter she had no doubt who it was who blocked her path. I found out on reaching home that Genni had been baptised in a Church of St Anthony in Melbourne and that he was her favourite saint. Her brother who died in early childhood long before I knew her was named for St Anthony and two of her sons had Anthony as their second name. I am Godmother to both of them and had forgotten this at the time. I have no doubt that I was blessed with a miracle on my visit to the Basilica.
I was blessed to be at the Basilica of St. Anthony on September 22, 2010 and to touch the tomb of my beloved patron...also to be able to attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist. Thank you, dear Lord and my beloved St. Anthony11
I seem to be the person allegedly reading this in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, but Chinnor is a small village and I am actually miles away in Oxford itself, so no miracles there. When I was in Padua, I saw the vocal chords and thought them rather gruesome. Didn't the Vatican outlaw the use of relics like this ? I know that St Aloysius R.C. Church in Oxford threw away its extensive collection, straight into the dustbin without any ceremony.
Also, I doubt very much if the Eurostar runs from Rome to Padua.
You can certainly get a train from Rome to Padua, but not a Eurostar. Eurostar basically runs trains from London through the Channel Tunnel to Paris or Brussels. You would get an Italian train from Rome to Padua.
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