St. Anthony of Padua relics in Calgary
CALGARY • The ancient shard of jagged rib is brown and broken.
Yet, it is placed on a yellow and red cushion, surrounded by golden finials, encased in glass and a metal enclosure shaped like a sceptre.
A shred of withered skin is in a matching container, attached to a golden statue.
These are relics of St. Anthony of Padua, which will be venerated by thousands of Roman Catholics at St. Luke’s Church in Calgary on their firstever visit to Alberta.
They have been displayed at churches in the city for the past few days, and will tour Lethbridge and Drumheller, before going on to San Francisco, then home to Italy.
The sacred items travel the world with Friar Mario Conte, a Franciscan, who carries them in his hand luggage — they can’t be entrusted to baggage handlers.
This often produces interesting conversations at airport security.
“When it goes through the X-rays, they see it’s something unusual, but at the same time they see it’s something old so they want to know what it is. I have a letter from the basilica stating that it is the property of the Basilica of Saint Anthony,” he said Tuesday.
Although there has long been a thriving trade in relics of
These devotions have been passed through generations
questionable merit, Fr. Conte, editor of the monthly Messenger of St. Anthony magazine, insists on the veracity of these items.
St. Anthony died in 1231 and, according to legend, his miracles were so numerous he received one of the speediest canonizations in the church’s history.
Thirty years after the death of the saint, who was renowned as a preacher, his grave was opened. The body was decayed, except for his tongue and jaw.
“This was a sign from God, that he wanted us to know that St. Anthony was really a messenger of God’s love,” said Fr. Conte.
“I was a young friar studying in seminary when they opened the tomb for the second time [in 1981],” said the Franciscan.
St. Anthony is often asked to find lost objects — most often, small items such as glasses, keys or documents.
“[People] pray to Anthony and very often we find it strange that they don’t know much about the saint,” Fr. Conte said.
“But somehow these devotions have been passed through generations and people feel that Anthony is a member of the family. We call it the Antonio phenomena. We ask, ‘ Why do you pray to St. Anthony?’ and they respond, ‘ Because he answers.’ ”
At St. Luke’s Tuesday morning, Chiara Frecchiami, who emigrated from Italy in 2011, said she had come to see the relics because Padua is close to her hometown.
“I had never been [to the basilica] in Italy, so I said, ‘OK, I need to go,’ ” she said.