The Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church located in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Lisbon (also known in the

Christian world Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...

Saint Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bo ...

). According to tradition, the church was built on the site where the saint was born, in 1195. The church is classified as a National Monument.

History

''Fernando de Bulhões'' (known as Saint Anthony) was born in Lisbon,

, in 1195, the son of a wealthy family. In 1220, while studying in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, he entered the Franciscan Order, adopting the name ''António''. His missionary travels would lead him to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he settled in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Due to his immense popularity, he was

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

less than a year after his death, in 1232. The site of the family house where Fernando was born, located very close to Lisbon Cathedral, was turned into a small chapel in the 15th century. This early building, from which nothing remains, was rebuilt in the early 16th century, during the reign of

King Manuel I Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as ...

. The Lisbon Senate was located on a house just beside the chapel. A religious brotherhood (''Irmandade de Santo António'') dedicated to the saint was founded in the 16th century. In 1730, under King John V, the church was rebuilt and redecorated. In the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

the Santo António Church was destroyed, with only the main chapel left standing. It was fully rebuilt after 1767 to a Baroque-

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

design by architect ''Mateus Vicente de Oliveira''. This is the church that can be visited today. Since 1755, a

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

leaves the church every June 13, passes by Lisbon Cathedral, and goes through the slopes of

Alfama The Alfama () is the oldest neighborhood of Lisbon, spreading on the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the Tagus river. Its name comes from the Arabic ''al-ḥamma'' (), meaning "hot fountains" or "baths," akin to "hammam" (). The district ...

neighbourhood, located nearby. The 13th of June is Saint Anthony's day and is one of the "Popular Saint Festivities" celebrated by Lisbon. During the morning, special bread is given to the oldest women of each family.Igreja de Santo António (Saint Anthony Church, Lisbon)
in Lisbon Portugal Guide On May 12, 1982,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited the church. He inaugurated a statue of Saint Anthony (by sculptor ''Soares Branco'') in the square in front of the church and prayed in the crypt, which marks the spot where the saint was born.

References

External links

Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Santo Antonio Church Roman Catholic churches in Lisbon National monuments in Lisbon District Neoclassical church buildings in Portugal

History

See also

References

External links