St. Anthony of Padua
The one you ask when you've lost something.
Ask any Catholic grandmother where the car keys went and you will hear about Anthony. Tony, Tony, look around, something's lost and can't be found. Half the Church has said it in a parking lot.
He was a Franciscan friar with an enormous voice and a soft spot for children, and he was such a good preacher that the Church named him a Doctor of the Church. The lost-things job came later, from a story about a stolen book that came back.
He is also the patron saint of letters, which makes him a bit of a house saint around here. Every envelope we mail goes out under his name.
St. Anthony of Padua facts for kids
- Patron of lost things, and also of letters and of mail
- He was Portuguese, not Italian. Padua is just where he died.
- A Doctor of the Church, one of only 37
- The lost-things patronage comes from a stolen book of psalms that was returned
Feast day: June 13 · Patron of lost things, and letters
St. Anthony, help me find what I lost, and remind me nobody is ever really lost to God.
We mailed this one
St. Anthony wrote a letter to the kids on our list, and it went out with a hand-drawn prayer card, a sticker, and an 8-page zine.
See St. Anthony's letter