St. Anthony the Great

This week’s Saint of the Week is Saint Anthony the Great, one of the first hermit monks.  He is also called Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert and Anthony the Abbot.  St. Anthony was born in the mid third century and lived more than 100 years!  Born in a well-to-do family, upon conversion to Christianity he gave up his possessions and spent much of his life living in isolation in the desert. He is best remembered for his epic spiritual battles with the Devil, which have been widely portrayed by artists over the centuries. St. Anthony the Great is also considered to be the founder of monasticism and wrote one of the earliest rules for monastic living.

Feast day:  Sunday January 17

Patron Saint of: Wisdom, Skin diseases.  Ergotism, a particularly painful affliction caused by the ingestion of fungus on rye and cereal, is also known as St. Anthony’s fire.  

Prayer to St. Anthony the Great:
Saint Anthony the Great, pray for us!