Saint Anthony in the Heart of the Catholics

Homily of H.E., Most Rev. Charles John Brown, D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

June 13, 2026 | Solemnity of Saint Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church

Saint Anthony of Padua Parish - Singalong Manila

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For me as Apostolic Nuncio, it's always a big joy for me to be with all of you, here in the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua, here in Singalong, so close to the Apostolic Nunciature, where I live on Taft Avenue. I came this afternoon, with the Counsellor of the Apostolic Nunciature, Monsignor Giuseppe Trentadue, who is joining me to be with you this evening. We're both so grateful to your wonderful parish priest, the Rev. Fr. Victor “Vic” Apacible—the parish priest here in Saint Anthony of Padua Parish, for this Misa Mayor on the 120th Parish Fiesta, here in your beautiful Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua.

So, those words that I just repeated that our Divine Lord Jesus speaks in the Gospel (Matthew 9:36—10:8) this evening, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few, so ask the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Tonight we celebrate a worker who went out to harvest the fields of the Lord. What am I talking about? I'm talking about our beloved Saint Anthony of Padua.

Early Life of Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony, as all of us know was born not in Padua, which is in Italy, but he was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in the year 1195 That's a very long time ago. He went to the seminary and was ordained a priest. He was a canon regular, but then as a young priest he had the experience of meeting the early Franciscans, the first followers of Francis of Assisi. These Franciscans were passing through Portugal on their way to Morocco, which is a non-Christian area. They wanted to go and preach the gospel, these five Franciscans, and it seems that Saint Anthony met them. Those Five Franciscans were martyred in Morocco. They lost their [lives for the] faith as they tried to bring the gospel to the non-Christian people in Morocco. So, we can see in those Five Franciscans already how God was sending out laborers into the harvest, to preach the gospel, to bring people into the Church; and our beloved Saint Anthony, seeing the example of these early Franciscans, said, “I want to join them. I want to be like them.” So, he left the diocesan priesthood as a canon regular and became a Franciscan.

He went to Assisi, and there he met Saint Francis. He became a Franciscan, and he went all over Southern Europe, preaching and teaching. He was really the answer to that prayer. We pray, “Lord, send out laborers for the harvest.” Saint Anthony was a laborer who spent ten years preaching and teaching, especially in areas where people had fallen away from the Catholic faith. Where they had lost their faith and maybe were considering becoming members of other religious sects. Saint Anthony went and preached to them and showed them the love of Jesus. Jesus loving them. That was the message of Saint Anthony, which converted so many people.

He only preached for ten years as a Franciscan, from 1221 to his death in 1231. He was only 35 years old when he died as a young preacher; but he was so loved and so effective because he showed people the love of Jesus for each and every one of them. He was canonized only one year after he died. In 1232, he was canonized as a saint. 

The Power of Restoring the Lost

What's very interesting, brothers and sisters, that shortly after his death and canonization, people began to pray to him for things that they had lost. As all of us do today, right? When we lose something, we pray to Saint Anthony. Very soon after his death, people began to pray to him for things that they had lost, and they began to find things: things that were lost then become found.

Just 200 years after his death, another Franciscan, a Hungarian Franciscan named Pelbartus of Temesvár, writing about 200 years after the death of our beloved Saint Anthony, noted that “When you pray to him and you've lost something, many times, you find it.” He said this (this is the connection that the Franciscan Pelbartus made between Anthony's life of preaching and his intercession for finding lost things), he wrote this, “Just as during his life, the Lord glorified Saint Anthony by giving him the grace of bringing back lost souls, so now after his death, the Lord gives him the power of restoring lost items.” So, that’s an interesting connection. Saint Anthony spent his life trying to find lost souls and bringing them back into the church; and now he's known for helping us when we lose something to find it.

This idea of lost and found is very central to our Catholic faith. We have that hymn,

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I'm found,

Was blind, but now I see.

So, each and every one of us crowded in the church tonight, each of us was lost and found by Jesus, because He loves us. The gospel is filled with stories of lost and found. We have the woman who loses the coin and sweeps the house, finds the coin, and invites the neighbors in to rejoice with her (Luke 15:8-10). We have the shepherd with 100 sheep who loses one and leaves a 99 on the hillsides and goes in search of the one that was lost. When he finds it, he brings the sheep home on his shoulders (Matthew 18:12-14). The lost coin, the lost sheep.

We even have the lost son in The Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son, who left his father's house, went and lived a life of sin and debauchery, but then came back. He was found, and came back to the Father's house (Luke 15:11-32).

Even Jesus was lost and found. What am I thinking of? The 12 year old Jesus in the Temple. Remember Mary and Joseph, they lost Jesus in the Temple. They traveled for three days, they didn't know where He was, and they went back and they found Him in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52).

This idea of being lost and found, it reoccurs again and again in the Gospels. Because Jesus is the one who has found each and every one of us. You were lost, and now you're found. If you have Catholic faith, you have been found by Jesus. He has given you that joy of being found.

So, all of us love to pray to St. Anthony when we lose things. Where I come from, in New York, the Italian-Americans have a prayer to St. Anthony. A very simple [prayer] when they lose something. Of course, the nickname for Anthony is “Tony”, right? Say, say,

Tony, Tony, look around.

Something's lost and must be found.

It's a simple prayer to Saint Anthony, “Tony, Tony, Tony, look around. Something's lost and must be found.” So, we have this beautiful devotion to Saint Anthony.

Saint Anthony in the Heart of the Catholics

You are so privileged to be part of the Parish of Saint Anthony. How many graces, how many blessings are showered upon you here? You know, brothers and sisters? You go to every Catholic church in the world, every parish, you will almost always find a statue of Saint Anthony. Show me a parish without a statue of Saint Anthony. I'll be very surprised. Every parish has Saint Anthony.

I was Nuncio in Albania (Mar. 9, 2017, to Sep. 28, 2020), a country near Greece and Italy, before I was sent here by Pope Francis in 2020. That's a country which is only about 10% Catholic. 10% Catholic, 90% non-Catholic. They have a Shrine of St. Anthony in a city called Laç, and on this night, between June 12 and June 13, tens of thousands of Albanians go to pray to Saint Anthony in Laç, Catholics and non-Catholics. Everyone loves Saint Anthony. Everyone loves Saint Anthony, and we love Saint Anthony, because he shows us that Jesus loves us, that Jesus has found us, that Jesus will not abandon us. We might abandon Jesus, but Jesus will never abandon us. So, this idea of being lost and found, brothers and sisters, let's keep that in our minds this evening.

Be Like Saint Anthony

Let's also look at our own neighborhoods, our own families. Maybe there's someone who's not practicing the faith. Maybe there's someone who's not coming to Mass. Maybe there's someone who's too old to come to Mass. Let's try to help them. Maybe they're lost, and you can find them. You can be like a Saint Anthony. Bring them back to the Church in your own way. Someone in your family, someone in your neighborhood, someone in your building. All of us have that responsibility.

Our Lady found the young Jesus, at 12 years old in the Temple. Our Lady always accompanies us when we go in search of people who are lost, because she is a mother who wants to find us. Saints like Saint Anthony do the work of Mary in going out and finding the lost, and making them feel found. All of us are found.

Final Exhortations and Conclusion

Today, we pray in gratitude for the successful visit of our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, who just returned yesterday to Rome after a very successful visit in Spain and in the Canary Islands. We thank God for the gift of our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, and we continue to pray for him always.

May God bless each and every one of you.

Happy Fiesta! Viva San Antonio! Viva!

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo

Photo by DZRV 846, via News Advocate Norman Dequia