The first class relic, which, according to St. Anthony of Padua parish in Toronto, is related to a body part associated with speech, will visit two Toronto parishes. It will begin its journey at St. Anthony of Padua March 10 with a 7 p.m. Mass, followed by a reception where the Franciscan friars answer questions. The relic will also be displayed on March 11 following a 7:30 p.m. Mass at St. Bonaventure Church.
“Relics are a concrete bridge, a link of love, between us and St. Anthony. So when we pass by and touch the relic of St. Anthony, it is neither a magical act nor a superstition, far from it, it is an act of love,” said Friar Mario Conte, OFM Conv, editor of the international edition of the Messenger of St. Anthony magazine.
Conte will be with the relic in Toronto, accompanied by Friar Danilo Salezze, OFM Conv., director of the Messenger of St. Anthony, and Friar Luciano Segafreddo, OFM Conv, editor of Italian edition of the magazine.
Although St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost objects, people are invited to ask his intercession for those who have lost peace of mind or who have lost a sense of direction.
Anna Marziliano, a parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua parish, said being close to a relic helps remind people of the saint, much in the same way that you would want to be close to an object related to a loved one.
“If I have something that belonged to the person I loved, I feel closer to them when I see it or touch it. So it’s the same with the saints’ relics,” Marziliano said.
For more information contact Marziliano at (416) 690-9904.
St. Anthony relic comes to Toronto
By Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register
{mosimage}TORONTO - A relic of St. Anthony of Padua will be returning to Canada accompanied by three Italian Franciscan friars this month.
St. Anthony, commonly referred to as the patron saint of lost articles, joined the Franciscan order in 1221 at the age of 26. He is a Doctor of the church and is typically portrayed in art with a book and the Infant Child Jesus.
St. Anthony, commonly referred to as the patron saint of lost articles, joined the Franciscan order in 1221 at the age of 26. He is a Doctor of the church and is typically portrayed in art with a book and the Infant Child Jesus.
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