SAINT ANTHONY OF ROCHER, ABBOT - 4 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 4th of May

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SAINT ANTHONY OF ROCHER, ABBOT

Saint Anthony (Antonius) (called St-Antoine du Rocher by Migne*) was abbot at the monastery of Saint Julian at Tours in France. After living for a long time in the said monastery exactly according to the rule, he went to a mountain near it and locked himself there in a narrow cell carved out of stone. 

When he lived and died is not exactly known (according to Migne* in the 7th century); all that is known is that before his death he was provided with the holy Sacraments by the parish priest of that area and that his body was returned to the monastery after his death. 

The Bollandists* wrote off to the Jesuits in Tours at the time while compiling their records, asking what they knew about Saint Anthony at their place. Thereupon they received the written reply saying it was believed that he was the first abbot of the monastery of Saint Julian, and there were some relics with the image of the saint in that monastery; the saint's body, however, rested in the village of Saint-Antoine, commonly called du Rocher, about three hours from Tours. According to Migne*, the Calvinists desecrated and scattered our saint's relics in the 16th century.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 255)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

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.