Our Patron Saint
Our Patron Saint
St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
St Anthony’s Parish in Toowoomba is named after St Anthony of Padua, one of the Catholic Church’s most beloved saints.
Born Fernando Martins de Bulhões on 15 August 1195, he grew up in a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal. He was ordained a priest around the age of twenty but, seeking a life of simplicity and mission, later joined the recently founded Franciscan order in Coimbra. It was there that he took the name of Anthony, after St Anthony the Great (251-356).
He quickly became known as a gifted educator and preacher. Despite chronic ill-health, he travelled throughout Morocco, France, and Italy before settling in the Italian city of Padua, where he died at just thirty-six years of age.
His impact was so profound that he was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1232, less than a year after his death. Construction of the Basilica of St Anthony of Padua commenced that same year, the first of many churches around the world dedicated to the saint.
From Padua to Toowoomba
On 16 January 1946, shortly after the end of the Second World War, Pope Pius XII bestowed upon St Anthony the title of Doctor evangelicus (‘Doctor of the Church’) in recognition of the depth and clarity of his Gospel teaching.
Bishop Joseph Roper of the Diocese of Toowoomba, who was in Rome at the time, decided that the next new parish in the Diocese would be named after the saint. St Anthony’s Parish was officially established on 1 May 1960.
St Anthony’s Feast Day is celebrated on 13 June. All are welcome to attend the special Mass held at St Anthony’s Toowoomba each year to commemorate its patron saint.
Prayers and Symbols
St Anthony is honoured as the patron saint of many groups and causes, including the poor, the elderly, mothers, couples, travellers, and those who work at sea.
He is perhaps best known, however, as the patron saint of lost items, a devotion that comes from an incident in his life involving the theft of a book of hand-written notes he used for his teaching and its return after his prayers.
St Anthony is also associated with the lily, symbolising purity, and is often depicted carrying the Christ child, reflecting his experience of a mystical visitation from the infant Jesus. These symbols can be found in the statues of the St Anthony inside and outside the church.
The fish represented in the stained glass above the choir loft meanwhile reference the famous ‘Miracle of the Fishes’, one of the many miracles associated with St Anthony’s preaching.
You can explore prayers to St Anthony, including a prayer for lost items, and guidance for a special thirteen-day novena, through the links found here.