All are welcome to the 9 am Mass at Mother of Good Counsel Church on Sunday, June 12, for a Celebration of St. Anthony of Padua, The novena prayer will be said and St. Antony's Bread will be blessed and distributed.

St. Anthony's Bread

Many people give donations to help the poor in thanksgiving for gifts they’ve attributed to St. Anthony’s intercession.  They call this St. Anthony’s bread. The story of St. Anthony’s bread is said to have begun in 1263, when a beloved child drowned near the basilica of St. Anthony. The child’s mother prayed for St. Anthony’s intercession and promised that if the child was restored to her, she would give the child’s weight in grain to the poor in order that they could make bread – a very great gift in a time of widespread poverty and hunger. When the child was miraculously restored to life, the woman was true to her word and the tradition of giving alms to the poor in St. Anthony’s name was begun. It is a beautiful tradition of generosity and charity to the poor. And it is fitting that it is done in St. Anthony’s name since he is the patron saint of the poor.

The Life of St. Anthony of Padua