A Blessed Experience

BUTLER  More than 1,000 Catholics from the Diocese and beyond came to St. Anthony of Padua Church here on Oct. 4 to pray in front of two first-class relics of the parish’s beloved patron, St. Anthony — a blessed experience that many of them considered both deeply spiritual and unexpectedly personal.

One of them, Kathleen Leary of St. Mary Parish, Pompton Lakes, said that her visit to Butler not only strengthened her Catholic faith but also deepened her connection to St. Anthony in a surprising way: by encouraging her to view prayer with the saint as time spent with a dear friend.

During two sessions — one during the day and another in the evening, Catholics visited St. Anthony Church to get the chance to walk up its main aisle to venerate the first of two relics of St. Anthony, the popular “Finder of Lost Things:” slivers of his skin. They were housed in a large gold-colored reliquary — made in the image of the saint — on a table in front of the altar. Pilgrims kneeled or stood in prayer before it; touched or kissed the image’s head or outstretched hand; touched the reliquary with rosaries, holy cards or other religious items, which turned them into third-class relics; or took photos with their cell phones. Then, the faithful moved to a side of the altar to pray before a smaller reliquary that encased a piece of St. Anthony’s “floating rib” — a rib not connected to the sternum like other ribs. They also filled baskets next to each reliquary with written prayer petitions.

“This [pilgrimage] was very spiritual for me. I learned that St. Anthony was the first theology teacher of the Franciscans. I also learned that when you pray to St. Anthony, he tugs on God’s arm [to advocate for your petition]. That deepened my devotion to St. Anthony and got me to go up [to venerate his relics],” said Leary, whose parish is served by the Franciscans like St. Anthony’s — a religious order that counted both St. Francis, its founder, and St. Anthony as members. The visit of the relics took place on the Feast of St. Francis — about two weeks after St. Peter the Apostle Church, Parsippany, hosted the public veneration of first-class relics of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina on Sept. 20. “I prayed [to God through St. Anthony] for myself; something that I lost, a notebook; people, who are looking for jobs; the government to find peace; and people to find peace,” Leary said.

The visit of the two relics of St. Anthony marked their first stop in the Diocese that will be followed by visits to four other local parishes for public veneration, ending Oct. 14 (see sidebar in right column) — part of a larger tour that will reach other locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony brought to the area these sacred relics, accompanied by Conventual Franciscan Father Mario Conte, a friar from Padua, Italy, and a world-renowned expert on the life of the saint, who was born in 1195 and died in 1231 in Padua, Italy. Each stop also offers opportunities for Mass, which includes Father Conte’s dynamic preaching, and time for prayer and quiet reflection.

The baskets on the floor near each reliquary held prayer petitions to St. Anthony that pilgrims wrote on prayer cards, which Father Conte and volunteers distributed. The writing of a prayer petition is a worldwide tradition when venerating a relic of a saint. Father Conte will bring the petitions back to the Basilica in Padua and place them at the tomb of St. Anthony. The tour officially ends there, where the Franciscan friars will gather to pray for the saint’s intercession upon the pilgrims’ intentions and petitions, Father Conte told the visitors.

In his homilies, during the Masses that closed to two sessions of public veneration — one at 12:10 p.m. and another at 7 p.m., Father Conte stood in the aisle of the church and explained the meaning of the relics: “love — they are a link of love between the person, who venerates, and the saint.”

“There is nothing magical or supernatural. There are no sparks. This is like touching a friend’s hand to make a physical connection,” Father Conte told pilgrims in front of one of the reliquaries. “Tell your prayers to St. Anthony. He is close to God, part of the Communion of Saints. He can tug on God’s arm and tell him, ‘Look at that person over there’ or ‘See that child over there.’ We can pray to the Lord through the intercession of St. Anthony for our problems, whether they’re physical or about our families, jobs or other people. Don’t despair, because God knows everything and he loves you,” he said.

During those Masses, Father Conte also spoke about the connection between St. Francis and St. Anthony, who may have met several times. St. Francis charged St. Anthony with becoming the first theology teacher for the friars. St. Anthony also gained a reputation as an astonishing preacher. He found success at converting heretics and renewing the faith of people, as he traveled in France and Italy — also moving many people to seek confession, said Father Conte, who was present in Padua in 1981 for the second opening of the saints’ tomb, which resulted in the collection of the two relics present in Butler.

The faithful — who ranged from infants and students of local Catholic schools to the elderly — also took time to read two tall banners that flanked the “floating rib” reliquary, which gave the visit some historical context. One banner was of Pope Francis, then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, who carried the reliquary containing the piece of “floating rib,” during a large procession through the streets of the Argentinian capital in 2000. The other depicted Sister Lucia of Fatima, who kissed the reliquary at the Monastery of Carmelite sisters in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1995, during the commemorations for the 800th anniversary of the saint’s birth.

Families went up to venerate the relics together, including the Colombos of Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Pequannock. Ronald Colombo and his wife brought their five children, from eight to 16 years old — all home schooled. He said that the visit to St. Anthony Church reminded him of a visit to Padua 20 years ago.

“It’s important for us to bring our kids here, because this is an important part of the Church: the cult of saints. It’s wonderful to be in the presence of a saint, especially one that people know about. People were reverent; some were weeping,” said Colombo, who admitted to having prayed through St. Anthony for lost items, including a credit card. “I’m inspired by St. Anthony’s holiness and the miracles that have been performed through his intercession,” he said.

The origins of this tour of St. Anthony’s relics started several years ago when Franciscan Father Thomas Hartle, former pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Butler, met the friars on a trip to Padua and invited them to his Morris County faith community. The Anthonian Association of the Friends of St. Anthony secured permission from Bishop Serratelli to bring the relics to the Diocese and then reached out to other parishes and locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to ask if they would like to host the relics. Father Conte and the volunteers will be staying at St. Anthony’s Friary during the New Jersey portion of their visit.

The faith-filled legacy of St. Anthony started with his birth in Portugal in 1195 to a noble family. At 15, he started studying with the Augustinian religious order, but joined the Franciscans in 1220, after he dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel.

Several miracles were attributed to St. Anthony during his lifetime. He died on June 13, 1231 at 36. Pope Gregory IX canonized him on May 30, 1232. Pope Pius XII declared St. Anthony a Doctor of the Church on Jan. 16, 1946. Even today, many faithful claim to have received miracles at his tomb in Padua, according to historical accounts.

On Oct. 4, Franciscan Father Joseph Juracek, pastor of St. Anthony Parish, concelebrated the two closing Masses with Father Conte, where the local friar also proclaimed the Word of God.

“This is exciting for our parish. It’s a spiritual benefit to have these relics of St. Anthony right here at St. Anthony Parish,” Father Joseph Juracek told The Beacon.