Padua celebrates Saint Anthony, thousands of faithful in procession

PADUA, JUN 13 – The Basilica del Santo is packed, long queues to access the Chapel of the Relics, and tens of thousands of faithful from all over Italy today at the celebrations of the feast of Saint Anthony, patron saint of Padua. An appointment with popular devotion that attracts pilgrims from all over the world. The inclement weather, with the threat of rain, gave way as the hours passed to a sunny day, which facilitated the constant flow of faithful. Forty thousand passages have been calculated, since the beginning of the thirteenth, in the chapel of Anthony’s repose. Numerous groups arrived on foot from the neighboring municipalities to Padua, leaving even at 2 am to arrive at the Basilica at 6.00 am, the time of the first celebration of the day. “Antonio is close to the people because his appeal has no barriers or differences. He listens and dialogues with everyone through his Word, as well as in the depths of meditation and silence” said the rector of the Basilica, Father Antonio Ramina. The highlight, as always, was the traditional procession in the afternoon, the display of the relics and the statue of the Saint carried on the canopy along the streets of the center of Padua, followed by the civil, military and religious authorities, and the participation of thousands of people.