St. Anthony and the Child Jesus

Following the Path God Sets for You

St. Anthony and the Child Jesus

Article Tools

Everybody loves St. Anthony of Padua, yet few of us know all that much about his life. We know that he is the patron saint to call on when we need help finding our lost keys.

But why does virtually every statue of St. Anthony show him holding the Christ child in his arms? We might have expected him to be depicted holding a lost set of car keys! Nor would it be surprising to see him holding a Bible, for he was one of the most famous Scripture teachers of his day.

But why the child Jesus? What does this tell us about Anthony? And ultimately, what does it tell us about ourselves? Was there something about this Franciscan preacher that can show us how to embrace Jesus more closely?

Seeing a Great Light. Perhaps the most obvious reason why Anthony is shown with the Christ child stems from an incident that took place toward the end of his life. Exhausted from preaching a Lenten mission in Padua, Italy, he was in need…

The full article is available to subscribers only

Access all articles, daily meditations and readings, as well as special resources, by becoming a subscriber. View subscription options.

Special Offer: 2 week free web-only trial subscription. Sign up now.

Existing Print & Web-Only Subscribers: Login for full access.

Comments (Join the discussion)

  1. chinnyPaco's avatar
    chinnyPaco

    Saint Anthony of Padua - Pray for us!
        I was greatly inspired by this article of St. Anthony and his love for Christ.Thank you so much Rev. Fr.Jude Winkler for this piece.

  2. frannie80's avatar
    frannie80

    St Antony of Padua pray for us all !!!

Add Your Comments

To make comments you must be a subscriber or registered user. Please log in below to add your comments or register for a free account.

  (Forgot your password?)