Image of Saint Anthony in the Santo Antônio Parish, in Paraibuna (SP) PasCom - Saint Anthony Parish Celebrated this Saturday (13), Saint Anthony's Day recalls the story of one of the most popular saints in the Catholic Church. Patron saint of Caraguatatuba and Paraibuna, on the North Coast and Vale do Paraíba, the religious man became known for his dedication to the poorest and for his reputation as a matchmaker. According to Father Daniel Lopes, parish priest of Paróquia Santo Antônio, in Paraibuna, the patron saint was born into a wealthy family, but gave up his comfortable life to dedicate himself to the mission of evangelizing. "He comes from the time of the crusades, where there was a religious struggle, called a holy war to defend doctrine and faith, but he followed another path and defended faith, sound doctrine, through sermons (...) he defends faith, religion, but without the use of any weapon, simply with words", he explained. ✅ Click here to follow the g1 Vale do Paraíba and region channel on WhatsApp For this reason, according to Father Julian Celis, rector of the Santo Antônio Sanctuary, in Caraguatatuba, the Church attributes to his preaching the fact that the religious's language remained intact even years after his death. Santo Antônio festival weekend For parish priests, the popularity of Santo Antônio is related to reports of miracles and the expansion of Portuguese colonization, which took stories linked to the patron saint of Caraguá and Paraibuna to different parts of the world. Known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon and Saint Anthony of Padua, the religious man's life was associated with different regions of Europe, which, according to Father Julian, contributed to his fame among the faithful. "He was the great preacher in Italy, and that's why many say he's from Portugal, that he's from Padua. In fact, he's from all over the world. Because his fame, his testimony, arrived very quickly. In fact, his canonization process didn't even take a year," said the parish priest. Santo Antônio's link with the cities of Caraguatatuba and Paraibuna, where he is the patron saint, dates back to the context of the formation of the municipalities to the present day, according to the parish priests. For communities, celebrating religious history is a symbol of identity. "Santo Antônio is part of the city's imagination, he accompanied the generations that were carrying out the evolution of the city (...) We remember that here was simply a village. And then, in this village, a little chapel appeared in the middle of this city, already so large today, of Caraguatatuba. So, this already speaks of a whole history, a whole religiosity, a whole identity", commented Father Julian. Santo Antônio Parish, in Paraibuna (SP) PasCom - Saint Anthony Parish Holy matchmaker The title of matchmaker was attributed to Santo Antônio due to one of his charitable actions. According to the parish priests, following the traditions of the time, in which, for the union, a dowry was mandatory, the religious paid the necessary amount to women who did not have money to get married. In this way, he avoided arranged marriages and collaborated in bringing couples together. Over time, with a view to marriage, sympathies involving the religious became popular, such as, for example, drowning the image of the saint or turning it upside down. Although these actions are known to the Church, the parish priests explain that the sympathies have no relation to Catholicism. "The people have their own way of doing their devotions, and, based on these personal experiences that one or another had, these popular devotions also became popular (...) It is not something that the church teaches, but it is something that we recognize that exists", commented the parish priest of Paraibuna. But, in addition to his reputation as a matchmaking saint, Saint Anthony is also known for helping believers find lost objects, for miracles related to health and for the tradition of distributing bread. "He distributed bread from his convent and from the friars to poor people, and miraculously there was never a shortage of bread for the friars. So he is also very connected to the issue of charity, and that is why to this day we have the custom of blessing the bread on Saint Anthony's Day", said Father Daniel. New statue of the Patron Saint of Caraguatatuba on Morro de Santo Antônio João Motta/TV Vanguarda *Under the supervision of g1. See more news from Vale do Paraíba and the Bragantina region