The Shrine of St. Anthony

06/05/2026

Today, we begin the Novena to St. Anthony of Padua. We invite you to pray with us for his intercession over the next nine days. St. Anthony, pray for us! Click below to begin with Day 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSpR9JE9mSk&list=PLcuagxZdlSkNdb4PApMVx6bj0lNQ1dWSn&index=1

06/02/2026

At times, healing can be those of the spirit and at other times those of the spirit.

St. Francis showed a healing of the spirit when he embraced lepers along the road and showed them compassion and dignity. This meant so much to those who had been excluded from society because of their illness.

One of the most famous miracles performed by St. Anthony to heal someone physically involved a young man who confessed that he had kicked his mother. St. Anthony said that someone who would do that should have his foot cut off. The young man took his words literally and cut his foot off. When St. Anthony heard of this, he hurried to the young man’s house and reattached the foot to the young man’s leg.

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This is the year of St. Francis for this is the 800th anniversary of his death. This reflection is about St. Anthony, for on Tuesday we seek his intercession in a special way. It is intended to show how he was a true disciple of St. Francis.

05/31/2026

St. Francis’ spirituality was profoundly Trinitarian.

He considered God the Father to be his own father, especially after he renounced his bond to his earthly father.

He considered Jesus to be his Lord and his Savior. Even more than that, he knew Jesus as the love of God which sustained him. For him, Jesus was his Lord and his all.

He considered the Holy Spirit to be the guide of his life and those of his followers. This is why he told them that the Holy Spirit was the true Minister General of the Franciscan Order.

When he wrote his testament at the end of his life, he blessed his followers with the blessing of the Most High Father, and on earth with the blessing of His Beloved Son with the Most Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
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This year has been dedicated to the memory of St. Francis by Pope Leo because it is the 800th anniversary of his death. We will be giving a short account of his life and ministry each Sunday through this special year.

05/26/2026

Both St. Francis and St. Anthony risked their lives to give witness to the faith. St. Francis travelled to Egypt during one of the crusades and snuck out of camp so that he might catechize the Muslim leader. He even offered to walk through fire if the Imams would do the same to prove who was speaking the truth about God.

St. Anthony fervently sought to follow the example of the first Franciscan martyrs for the faith by travelling to Morocco in his early days as a Franciscan friar, but he became so ill he had to return to Europe where God had other plans for him.

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This is the year of St. Francis for this is the 800th anniversary of his death. This reflection is about St. Anthony, for on Tuesday we seek his intercession in a special way. It is intended to show how he was a true disciple of St. Francis.

05/24/2026

The first words that Jesus utters to his disciples after his resurrection are, “peace be with you.”

That is the greeting that St. Francis told his followers to give when they entered a house. That is the gift he gave to the world. He proclaimed a healing of the wounds of sin, for there was now peace between us and God, for we could now experience the incredible love of God in the sacraments and Word of God. There is peace between us and each other. St. Francis would often try to heal disputes among the people around him. There is even peace between us and nature. We see this in the many stories of how St. Francis treated the animals around him with sacred respect, and how he saw all of creation as a sign of God’s love for us.

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This year has been dedicated to the memory of St. Francis by Pope Leo because it is the 800th anniversary of his death. We will be giving a short account of his life and ministry each Sunday through this special year.

05/20/2026

At the time of St. Francis and St. Anthony, there were many who doubted the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They both taught that the Eucharist truly is the body and blood of Christ. St. Anthony spoke of it being the body of the one who was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, and risen. St. Francis marveled at this holy sacrament in which we see Jesus humbling Himself to be present in the form of bread and wine. He reminded his brothers and sisters that we are called to live in the same humility that we see in the Eucharist.

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This is the year of St. Francis for this is the 800th anniversary of his death. This reflection is about St. Anthony, for on Tuesday we seek his intercession in a special way. It is intended to show how he was a true disciple of St. Francis.

05/18/2026

Join us on Friday in the Glassroom for a short seminar on the 28 Giotto Paintings in Assisi that depict the life and ministry of St. Francis of Assisi! This seminar will be about an hour long and begin at 10 a.m. in the Shrine Glassroom. There will be time for Confession prior to the Noon Mass.

Reserve your spot today!
https://secure.shrineofstanthony.org/a/life-st-francis-28-paintings

05/18/2026

In his life of penance, St. Francis sought to live in a way that was not bound to this earth. Through his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, he wanted to live here on earth a life of heavenly surrender. In his long hours of prayer and devotion, he often crossed the boundary between heaven and earth, especially in moments of ecstasy. He admonished his followers to live like saints, and to treat everyone they met with saintly dignity.

This is why the artist Giotto, when he depicted the scene of the death of St. Francis, portrayed two realities. At one level, one sees the friars mourning the death of their beloved founder. At the second level, one sees his soul already ascending into the heavens.

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This year has been dedicated to the memory of St. Francis by Pope Leo because it is the 800th anniversary of his death. We will be giving a short account of his life and ministry each Sunday through this special year.

05/10/2026

St. Francis chose a life of penance so that he might fully observe the commandments of the Lord. He would examine his conscience continuously to determine whether he had broken the law of God in the smallest way. He would often accuse himself of pride and hypocrisy. He called himself the greatest sinner for he had not responded to the incredible grace God had shown him in the way he thought proper.

A farmer one day reminded St. Francis that he should be very careful to be that which people said that he was for a lot of people were depending upon him. In this sense, the farmer was telling him that if he were not going to be a saint because that is what he should be, then he should at least try to live like a saint because that is what people needed him to be.

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This year has been dedicated to the memory of St. Francis by Pope Leo because it is the 800th anniversary of his death. We will be giving a short account of his life and ministry each Sunday through this special year.

05/06/2026

Our friends at St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, Clarksville MD and St. Francis of Assisi Fulton are hosting a Jubilee Sunday event this weekend, May 10 at 12:15 p.m.

Their monthly talks are an opportunity to deepen your devotion to St. Francis, learn about his life, and pray in communion with others.

https://stlouisparish.org/events/jubilee-sunday-at-st-francis-1

If you'd like to learn more about St Francis of Assisi Fulton and their Jubilee Year activities, please stop by their table at this year's St. Anthony Festival on June 13!

Join us for a monthly opportunity to deepen your devotion to St. Francis—learning about the life of Francis of Assisi, reflecting on how to follow his example, and praying together.