Human Flower Project

Friday, June 13, 2008

St. Anthony: Babysitter, Lily-Holder

The saintly finder of lost things is also Catholicism’s model of protectiveness. June 13th is the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua.

St. Anthony with the Baby Jesus
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Photo: Keith Coronel

It happened twenty years ago. We pulled into the local Quick-Mart, got out of the car, and heard a small child shrieking. A toddler had somehow scrambled up on the back of the family station wagon and couldn’t find his way down. We pulled the little tyke off the car and were setting his feet on the ground when mom stormed out of the store.

“Don’t touch my child!” she yelled. “What are you doing with my child?!” As we explained, she clutched the teary little fellow, turned away, and drove off.

Who could blame her? In our little town, a child abuse scandal had just come to light involving, of all places, a church day care center. We all now know generally what had happened in the Roman Catholic Church by that time – the mid-1980s. According to the John Jay Report (2004), commissioned by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the incidence of reported child sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests quadrupled between 1960 and 1985. It’s been a sinister problem, though not so well reported, in Protestant denominations, too.

St. Anthony statue, 9 June, 2007
Cathedral Church of Macau
Photo: Bernard Oh

We consider this grim subject a human flower project today because of St. Anthony of Padua. June 13th is the feast day of this Franciscan friar. Anthony is one of the church’s most beloved figures in part because of what we call today “branding.” He’s so easy to recognize—shaved head, brown cassock. And he nearly always is depicted holding the Christ child on one arm and carrying a white lily in his other hand.

The white lily (which is also associated with saints Philomena,
Cecila, Clare, and Joseph, as well as the Blessed Virgin and Christ Resurrected) is one of Christianity’s oldest floral emblems. It’s associated with Saint Anthony in particular for a number of reasons. First there were miracles:

Somewhere in Austria, a fresh lily was placed in the hands of St. Anthony’s statue June 13, 1680. “For an entire year the flower remained as fresh and white as it was on the day it was put there. The next year the same stem bore two lilies, which filled the whole church with their fragrance. This fact was authenticated officially, and was looked upon as a heavenly testimony to the purity of the Saint.”

During the French Revolution (a nadir of French Catholicism), the Franciscans were driven into exile. “However, their chapel (in Marcasso, Corsica) remained open and a public procession was made to it each year on June the 13th. For this occasion a temporary altar of St. Anthony was erected in the centre of the main aisle. Garlands of flowers were hung above the Saint’s head; at his feet were placed roses and other flowers, and lilies of spotless white stood out against a green background of laurel and myrtle.” The sacristan failed to remove St. Anthony’s statue and decorations after the ceremony. Returning to the chapel several months later, he found the lilies still there, “fresh and white, whereas the other flowers were withered and dead.”

Pope Leo XIII gave permission for the blessing of lilies to honor St. Anthony, a custom that endures today. Though one doesn’t ordinarily think of Scotland as devoutly Catholic, the blessing of the lilies is celebrated with special fervor in Glasgow’s Blessed John Duns Scotus Church June 13th. Here’s a version of the blessing:

O God, Who art the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, the Lover of spotless purity, the Giver of all grace and everlasting life, sanctify by Thy holy benediction these lilies, which in thanksgiving, and in honour of St. Anthony, Thy Confessor, we present for Thy blessing.

Pour down upon them, by the sacred sign of the holy Cross, Thy heavenly dew, Thou Who didst so kindly create them to gladden man by their beauty and fragrance; enrich them with such power, that to whatsoever disease they may be applied, or in whatsoever home they may be kept, or on whatsoever person they may be borne with devotion, through the intercession of Thy servant, Anthony, they may cure every sickness, repel the attacks of Satan, preserve holy chastity, and bring peace and grace to all who serve Thee. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

San Antonio de Padua
con el Niño
by Bartolomé Murillo
Photo: via Wiki

Like St. Francis, Anthony received a vision of the infant Jesus: “French writers maintain that it happened at the Castle of Chateauneuf-la-Foret near Limoges, and Italian writers maintain that it happened at Camposanpiero near Padua.” In both accounts, Anthony was reading his Bible at bedtime when the baby appeared, literally “the Word of God,” and stroked Anthony’s face. It’s this intimate encounter that painters and sculptors most often represent.

Anthony, born in Portugal, traveled and taught in Morocco, Sicily, Italy and France. He was admired for his powerful preaching and defense of the defenseless – prisoners and the poor.

He was also someone who could be entrusted with a child, even a divine one. The white lily symbolized his chastity.

St. Anthony altarpiece (detail), Minoritenkirche (Greyfriars) Vienna
Photo: Brother Lawrence

This fairly recent tribute draws the contrast directly between those who would abuse their priestly authority and Anthony’s protective tenderness. “Placing a vulnerable child under the care of another human being shows a tremendous amount of trust toward that person,” writes Brother Jack Wintz, of the Franciscan order.  “The risks are apparent: Any child can be easily harmed, neglected, misguided or even abused by a human parent or mentor.” Brother Jack writes that the many thousands of artists who have represented St. Anthony holding the white lily were “planting a big clue as to why Anthony deserves such honor and trust,” his complete devotion to the vows of celibacy and compassion for the helpless.

“In today’s world, when children are so often victims of neglect and abuse, the combined symbolism—of Anthony, child and lily—gives us rich food for prayer and meditation. Our children, our Church, Christ himself are sacred gifts entrusted to the People of God.”

Enjoy nearly 200 hundreds images of St. Anthony of Padua from all over the world.