Friday 31st October
We began the day with Mass celebrated this time in the chapel of St Maximilian Kolbe, above the Reconciliation chapel at St Anthony’s Basilica. It seemed appropriate to introduce another Franciscan into our journey – someone who preached the importance of beauty expressed most perfectly in the Immaculate Virgin Mary, and who gave his life at Auschwitz in place of a man with a family:
We reflected on some of the stories about St Anthony which are replicated in the artwork around the saint’s tomb (see here for the official guide). Some of the stories may seem far-fetched, but they echo the theatre of human life, with its tragedies and human failings, which find redemption through the power of the Gospel.
St Anthony is famously the Patron Saint of Lost Things, probably down to the story of a Franciscan novice in Bologna taking Anthony’s precious psalter. When the saint prayed for forgiveness for the person who took it, his prayer transformed the novice’s heart leading to him returning the psalter. Years later, when Anthony was exhausted with the pressures and strains of teaching, preaching and generally sorting things out, he decided to write to his superior to ask for time out. When the messenger came to pick up the letter, Anthony couldn’t find it (so much for him being the Patron Saint of lost things!). Anthony decided it must be therefore God’s will for him to continue working, only for the superior to write to him giving him time off!
The story teaches us that we often can lose control of situations. But if we are people of deep faith and confident prayer, we learn to totally accept that God is in charge and the need to simply let go and let God. It seems this is at the heart of the Franciscan spirit and story.
In the afternoon we went to Verona and had a rapid guided walk about:
And returning to Padua, there is chance for one last prayer at St Anthony’s tomb:
And then to finish off our pilgrimage, we met after our evening meal outside the Basilica with lit candles for a ‘All Hallows Eve’ time of prayer together…
…before one last cheeky gelato:
To go back to our itinerary click here