Antony of Padua, St

views updated

Antony of Padua, St (?1195–1231). Christian Franciscan, patron saint of the poor. His zeal, especially against the Cathars, earned him the title of malleus haereticorum, ‘hammer of heretics’. As his cult developed, he became associated with the power to restore or locate lost property—perhaps because of an incident in which a novice was forced, by an apparition, to return a psalter which he had taken. He was canonized in 1232 and made a Doctor of the Church in 1946. Feast day, 13 June.

More From encyclopedia.com