St. Anthony of Padua relic tours Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY, April 26 (PNA) – After 20-years, the relic of St. Anthony of Padua will tour again two churches in Eastern Visayas this week, bearing its name.

The relic was at the church in Tabontabon, Leyte under the Archdiocese of Palo on Monday. On Tuesday, the relic was brought to St. Anthony of Padua pilgrim church in Sulangan village in Guiuan, Eastern Samar and the St. Anthony de Padua of Friary, Dolores, Eastern Samar under the Diocese of Calbayog.

The welcome and veneration in Tabontabon was at the newly-built St. Anthony of Padua Church that has 1,000 seating capacity. The veneration starts at 8 a.m. and mass will be at 10 a.m. before it departs to the pilgrim church in Guiuan.

The relic first visited the Philippines in February 1996. One of the relic is a piece of his floating rib and is the same relic that Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, held as he led a procession in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2000 and was received by Sister Lucia, who was one of the children that received the message from Our Lady of Fatima.

Saint Anthony of Padua (born Fernando Martins de Bulhões (1195 – 13 June 1231), also known as Anthony of Lisbon, was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order.

He was born and raised by a wealthy family in Lisbon and died in Padua, Italy.

He is especially invoked and venerated all over the world as the patron saint for the recovery of lost items, and is credited with many miracles involving curing sick people, lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods. He is also credited people’s success in taking difficult board examinations.

It has been 20 years since Saint Anthony’s relics have visited the Philippines. The last mass in the Philippines on May 2 will be in Mandaluyong City and is exclusive for the friars. (PNA)

RMA/SQM/VICKY C. ARNAIZ