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Have you ever wondered why Saint Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of lost items?
The Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua on June 13.
Chaldean Catholic priest Father Simon Esshaki of San Diego, Calif. explains in a video the miraculous reason why Saint Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of lost items.
“Every single time I’ve asked Saint Anthony to pray that I find something I’ve lost, I’ve always found it,” Father Simon begins. “Many people ask him to pray when they lose something, so I want to tell you real quick one of the reasons that is.”
Father Esshaki tells a story about a monk who stole one of Saint Anthony's treasured items. Saint Anthony prayed for its return, and the monk not only returned the item, but also repented of his sinful actions.
Here’s the full story in the video below:
@father.simon St. Anthony, pray for us!
♬ original sound - Father Simon
Here’s the text of the story:
“When Saint Anthony was in the monastery, one of the monks who was about to leave the monastery stole a book that was very special to him. It was a Breviary or a Bible that he had so many notes in. It was very special to him.
“This monk stole it and so Saint Anthony prayed that the book would be returned to him. Through his prayers, the monk not only brought back the book, but the monk also had a conversion of heart. He repented from his act of stealing.
“So that’s why we ask Saint Anthony to pray for things that are lost. We should also ask him to pray for people who are lost. And so many people came back to the faith because of the teaching and the prayers of Saint Anthony.
“So let’s ask him to pray for all those who are lost will return to the Lord. Saint Anthony, pray for us!”
Father Esshaki received over 1700 responses to his TikTok video. Some users even shared their powerful experiences with the saint.
Here's what some users said:
"His intercession once helped me find a friend who was lost. She was in a dangerous situation and was walking the streets at night, no phone," One user said. "Knew the general area she could walk, so I drove off to find her. I asked Saint Anthony to help and found her on the next street."
"Once I lost my baptism necklace at the mall. Four hours later I went back, asked for his intercession, and my mom was on her last bead of the rosary when I found it," another user said.
"I have a crazy story about how I know Saint Anthony," another user shared.
"A while back, I lost something valuable to me and I was so mad with myself that I kept saying, 'God, why am I like this?' Because I have a habit of losing things. Maybe two days later, I went to a shop and I wanted to buy a ring with a Saint Francis [picture] on it," the user continued.
"I went home, looked at the ring, and was like, 'This is not Saint Francis.' So I looked it up and it was Saint Anthony. [I] and kept reading about him and found out that not only [do] his prayers help you find your lost items, but he was also born on the same day as my birthday," the user concluded.
Do you have any miraculous stories about Saint Anthony?