NOTE: I am starting to work really hard on my Portuguese so
that it becomes strong and fluent enough for me to write about anything I want.
But the promised entry on Santo António de Lisboa deve ser escrito em inglês. And more people will understand the
latter, so why not.
A seperate post could be written on how the knowledge of foreign
languages has empowered me in many areas of life, both professional and
personal. It does not matter, whether learning them was a result of my conscious
decision and effort or just a side effect of having friends outside my own
country for example (e.g. learning by osmosis). But in order to make a long
story short, I will skip this thread and focus on how my ability to read
Portuguese Wikipedia has changed my view of a certain Saint of the Catholic
Church. He is the patron of all things or issues lost; the guy to whom single
women, who want to find a good husband, say their ardent prayers or perform quite odd rituals with his figure; the one who served the poorest and was believed to
have preached to the fish – as described in this German poem with the music
of a Viennese composer, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911).
My first more personal „encounter” with Saint Anthony was in
2011, when I visited Italy for the first time. Padua was my first stop in this
country and the first memory of the Mediterranean climate and culture in general that I had ever had. And a great one! The heart of the town is the huge Pontifical Basilica of Saint
Anthony, widely known as Saint Anthony of Padua (św. Antoni Padewski in Polish). Since his nickname was taken after
the Italian town he lived in for the last, short, but very intensive period of
his life, no one likes to focus on his Portuguese origin. Especially the
Italians; Sant’Antonio di Padova is obviously
theirs.
Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua, Italy
But, alas, neither is he from Padua, nor was his first name
Anthony. He was born in Lisbon around 1191, provavelmente
as Fernando Martins de Bulhões. He started his religious life in the convents
of Lisboa and Coimbra, then, only after turbulent circumstances, and rather dangerous
travels, he landed in Italy where he died on June 13th 1231.
When you look up the „Saint Anthony of Padua” entry in Wikipedia,
a relevant article will pop up in almost any language you know. Almost. In Portuguese
there is no Saint Anthony of Padua, there is only Santo António de Lisboa. The Portuguese people love António so much that they continue to
call him by their own name (by the way, in the German, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian,
Latin, Spanish, Catalan or Romanian Wikipedia, Anthony goes by both names. Yay to
the authors for their accuracy and unbiased attitude). Here is a photo of azulejos, showing Pope John Paul II praying by St. Anthony's relic from the church built over
Fernando’s birthplace in Lisboa – no less important (if not more) to the life
story of the famous saint than Padua.
So, before you mention Anthony again, please bear in mind
his Portuguese origin. And if anyone needs help from Saint Anthony of Padua, ou peço desculpa, Fernando de Lisboa,
why not pray in Portuguese?
St. Anthony of Padua's Church in Wrocław, Poland in the ulica św. Antoniego (St. Anthony Street)
Até já!
