At the age of 15, he was received into the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross at the Abbey of Saint Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon.

[3] In 1212, distracted by frequent visits from family and friends, he asked to be transferred to the motherhouse of the congregation, the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Coimbra, then the capital of Portugal.

King Afonso II of Portugal ransomed their bodies to be returned and buried as martyrs in the Monastery of the Holy Cross.

[4] Inspired by their example, Fernando obtained permission from church authorities to leave the Canons Regular to join the new Franciscan order.

[7] In 1222, in the town of Forlì, a number of visiting Dominican friars were present for the occasion of an ordination, and a misunderstanding arose over who should preach.

In this quandary, the head of the hermitage, who did not think any of his own humble friars could give a homily for the occasion, called upon Anthony, whom he suspected was most qualified, and entreated him to speak whatever the Holy Spirit might inspire.

His audience was moved not only by his rich voice and arresting manner, but also by the theme and substance of his discourse, his deep knowledge of scripture, and the eloquence with which he delivered his message.

In Anthony, however, he found a kindred spirit who shared his vision and could also provide the teaching any young members of the order seeking ordination might need.

The traditional practice of praying for St. Anthony's help in finding lost or stolen things is traced to an incident during his lifetime that occurred in Bologna.

When heretics there treated him with contempt, Anthony was said to have gone to the shoreline, where he began to preach at the water's edge until a great crowd of fish was seen gathered before him.

[9] In another often-told story, which took place also in Rimini, Anthony was challenged by a heretic to prove the reality of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The men admitted to attempting to kill him, but then challenged him to eat if he truly believed the words spoken in Mark 16:18 about the apostles of Christ: "and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them".

As he had requested, Anthony was buried in the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini—probably dating from the late 12th century—near a convent he had founded in 1229.

According to another legend, when he was initially buried his tongue, jaw, and vocal cords were chosen as relics for veneration and displayed in a large reliquary.

[10] On 1 January 1981, Pope John Paul II authorized a scientific team to study Anthony's remains and the tomb was opened five days later.

In 1692, Spanish missionaries came across a small Payaya Indian community along what was then known as the Yanaguana River on the feast day of Saint Anthony, 13 June.

The Franciscan chaplain, Father Damien Massanet, with agreement from General Domingo de Teran, renamed the rivers in his honor, and eventually built a mission nearby, as well.

A traditional Italian-style procession is held that day through the streets of its South Village neighborhood, during which a relic of the saint is carried for veneration.

[16] Each year on the weekend of the last Sunday in August, Boston's North End holds a feast in honor of Saint Anthony.

He is venerated in Mogán Village in Gran Canaria, where his feast day is celebrated every year with oversized objects carried through the streets for the fiesta.

In the town of Brusciano, Italy, located near Naples, an annual feast in honor of Saint Anthony is held in late August.

He vowed that if his son would become healthy he would build and dance a giglio like the people of Nola do for their patron San Paolino during the annual Fest Dei Gigli.

(A giglio is a tall tower topped with a statue of the saint that is carried through the streets in carefully choreographed maneuvers that resemble a dance.)

The icon of Saint Anthony, dating from 1649, is housed in a local Franciscan church, Kaplica Świętego Antoniego w Przeworsku [pl].

[30] A tiny piece of St. Anthony's tongue is said to be preserved in a special reliquary, which is located in a glass case together with a statue of the saint, at the entrance to the church.

Its founder was a young charismatic woman named Beatriz Kimpa Vita who said she was possessed by Saint Anthony of Padua.

In 1511, Titian painted three large frescoes in the Scuola del Santo in Padua, depicting scenes of the miracles from the life of Saint Anthony: The Miracle of the Jealous Husband, which depicts the murder of a young woman by her husband; A Child Testifying to Its Mother's Innocence; and The Saint Healing the Young Man with a Broken Limb.

In correspondence, Mahler expressed amusement that his sinuous musical setting could imply St. Anthony of Padua was himself drunk as he preached to the fish.