A Portuguese saint, born in Lisbon in 1195 (though carbon-dating performed on his bones in 1982 suggest a different birth year). His father was a Captain in the Portuguese Royal Army.

Anthony joined the Franciscan Order in 1221 and was asked by St. Francis to instruct the Order in the study of the scriptures. Anthony died in 1231. Pope Gregory IX enrolled him among the saints in 1232. At Padua, a magnificent basilica was built in his honor; his holy relics were entombed there in 1263.

From the time of his death up to the present day, countless miracles have occurred through St. Anthony's intercession, so that he is known as the Wonder-Worker. On January 16, 1946, Pope Pius XII, declared St. Anthony a Doctor of the Church, with the title, Doctor Evangelicus, Doctor of Gospels. Within the entire Community of Saints, only 33 have be declared Doctors of the Church for their exemplary scholasticism and their Christ-like lives.

Anthony is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus, to whom He miraculously appeared. Anthony died in Italy, but is still very much a Portuguese saint. He is patron saint of Lisbon and of preachers of the gospels. He is also often invoked as the saint of lost causes and lost articles.