Saint Anthony of Padua was born at Lisbon, in Portugal, on the 15th clay of August, 1195. His father was Martin de Bouillon and his mother Theresa de Tavera. Both were descended from a long line of ancient and illustrious ancestors, remarkable for their courage and faith and their nobility of blood.
Hardly had the illustrious Saint Francis of Assisi been called to his reward, than his place was filled, in the veneration and enthusiasm of the people, by him whom all proclaimed his first-born, the amiable saint of whom we are speaking. Like his spiritual father, Saint Anthony was remarkable for his dominion over nature which won for him the title of wonder-worker.
The newly-born child was carried in great pomp to the sacred precincts of the cathedral, and there received the name of Fernando.
There was unbounded joy in the household: the lowly and the great ones united their congratulations, and the palace of the de Bouillon resounded with best wishes, which might seem exaggerated, to be excelled only by the reality. His mother, Donna Theresa, was most conscientious in her duties, and realized her responsibility fully. Her solicitude was very great in the exercise of her exalted mission, which for every mother worthy of the name is a sacred obligation. Being thoroughly Christian, she filled the mind of her little son with the sweet teachings of the Gospel, and being the daughter of heroes, she formed him on lofty ideals of character, and to esteem those great things which she regarded as the most beautiful possession of nobility.
This pious mother, full of devotion to the Queen of Heaven, taught her beloved child not only Mary's power and goodness, but she taught him also to give her his confidence and love.
Fernando responded to the affection of his mother. Everything in him foretold a heart of gold and an exalted and refined intelligence. He was happy only when they spoke to him of the Blessed Trinity, the Virgin Mother, and the saints. The ardor with which he recited his daily devotions was the admiration of every one. We might say that his education was given him in the church, at the foot of the altars, and that his science was founded especially on the knowledge of religion. He learned the Latin language rapidly, and, in fact, all that was taught in the schools at the time: humanities, rhetoric, and philosophy. Everything that related to religion, ecclesiastical history, and to liturgy was for him an object of marked predilection. His devotion to study, his modesty, his sweetness, and his piety were the consolation of his preceptors and the admiration of his comrades. He was regarded as the model of all the virtues, and merited even more eulogies than were bestowed upon him.
The first miracle of which we have any record took place in the church which he was accustomed to frequent. One day, as he was kneeling on the steps of the altar, in the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Pillar and his eyes fixed on the tabernacle, this angel of the earth mingled his burning adorations with those of his brethren in heaven. Suddenly the demon appeared to him in a threatening manner, striving to turn him away from his devotions. The terrified young man remembered the power of the sign of the cross, and quickly he traced this sign on the marble steps. At once, under the impress of his pure and delicate finger, the marble softened and retained the impression of the cross. It was a thunder-stroke for the demon, who immediately disappeared. The miraculous cross is visible to this day, and pilgrims love to kiss the ineffaceable mark of the first prodigy in a life all resplendent with prodigies.
- taken from Saint Anthony, The Saint of the Whole World by Father Thomas F Ward