SAINT ANTHONY OF LUCCA, PRIEST AND HERMIT - 27 APRIL

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 27th of April

SAINT ANTHONY OF LUCCA, PRIEST AND HERMIT

Saint Anthony, a priest and hermit in Lucca, Italy, preached with Saint Paulinus (the first bishop of that city and disciple of Saint Peter the Apostle at the time of Emperor Nero), making the gospel known in that region. 

Above all, he made an effort to bury martyrs decently. Whenever he came across bodies that were either not buried at all or not buried well (male et inepte), he carried them to the city of Lucca, where he interred them with great respect in the so-called cellula of the saints. It was also he who converted the martyr Saint Torpes (Consiliarius Neronis et totius palatii Archimandrita) to the Christian faith and baptised him. 

Finally he died of old age and was buried in the city of Lucca. In the year 1200 his relics were rediscovered and solemnly exposed for public veneration.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 225)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Anthony may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.