The skull and bone relics of St. Anthony of
Padua, as conserved in the Basilica dedicated
to his honor in Padua, Italy.
This past Friday, June 13th, several secular and Catholic new sites around the world reported on a story that immediately caught my attention... A team of forensic scientists were provided with a 3-D digital image of a human skull and were tasked to recreate the facial features of the 36-year-old man to whom it belonged to. The Brazilian expert who worked on the computer reconstruction was not initially informed about the identity of the famous individual... but after the digital reconstruction was completed, he was made aware of the man's true identity - it was none other than St. Anthony of Padua (d. 1231), one of the most popular and best-loved Saints in the history of the Catholic Church.
Through the centuries, St. Anthony has been
consistently depicted as a young man holding
the Holy Bible and/or a stalk of lilies in one
hand... and the Christ-Child in the other.
St. Anthony has always been one of my favorite Saints and, during my teen years, I chose him for my personal Patron Saint because of his zeal for the Faith, and for the remarkable miracles he performed during his lifetime. He has since obtained countless favors for me. So when the news came out that a forensic team had reconstructed his actual face in 3-D format, I was excited and happy... and thought to myself, "Well it's about time - what took so long?"
Is this the actual face of St. Anthony? A team
of forensic experts who reconstructed the face
from the Saint's skull, believe it is.
Anyhow, above is a photo of the completed image, which is said to now be the most accurate likeness of the Patron Saint of Lost Articles. Nothing against the popular representations of St. Anthony currently in circulation but I actually like the computer-generated image better. Unlike all the other depictions that look too stylized and/or "pretty", the new forensics-based likeness gives me a better sense of reality of the man who I've often asked for help from whenever I was in a rough patch in my personal life; my "best friend" in Heaven, as I'd like to think of him.
Now... me, and countless other St. Anthony enthusiasts throughout the world, can finally put a face to the name whenever we say, "St. Anthony, pray for us."
+ + + To learn more about the life of St. Anthony of Padua, click here. + + +
St. Anthony, thank you for helping us to find you in this remarkable way. Please help us to find peace in families, Communities, Parishes, neighborhoods, and in the world. Please pray for us.
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me who the artist is who painted the 2nd from left image of St. Anthony and the Christ Child (you have a row of 4 St. Anthony and Child images)? I would like to contact them if still alive or do more research on them. Thank you! (It is on the page from Sunday June 15, 2014 at: http://guadalupehousehi.blogspot.com/2014/06/putting-face-to-name-is-this-what-st.html
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, I'm sorry but I do not know who the artist is who created that painting of St. Anthony of Padua. I found it on the internet and posted it as just one example of how the Saint is popularly depicted in art.
DeleteSan Antonio de Padua patrono de mi familia, gracias por todos los milagros y favores concedidos a nuestra familia que aprendio a venerarte gracias a mama Eva que inculco tu adoracion a sus hijos. Pido a Dios nos de la dicha de poder visitar tu iglesia en Padua prontamente.
ReplyDeleteGracias por su comentario. Que Dios continúe bendiciendo a usted y a su familia a través de la intercesión de San Antonio de Padua.
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