Basilica · Italy / Vatican

Basilica of St Anthony of Padua

Padua, Italy

"The Basilica of Sant'Antonio — known to all as Il Santo — is one of the great pilgrimage churches of Christ..."

Highlights

1One of the seven pilgrim churches of Christendom — attracting 6.5 million pilgrims annually The tongue
2and vocal cords of St Anthony were found incorrupt when his tomb was opened 31 years
3after his death The Donatello bronze reliefs on the high altar are among the greatest works
4of Renaissance sculpture St Anthony was canonised within 352 days of his death — one of
5the fastest canonisations in Church history The June 13 feast draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims

Getting There

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Address

Piazza del Santo, 11, 35123 Padova, Italy

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Directions

Padua is 45 minutes from Venice by train. From Padua station, take bus 3 or 8 to Piazza del Santo, or walk 10 minutes via Via del Santo.

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Timings

Current time — Rome Time (CET)

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When	Hours	Note
Basilica	6:20 AM - 7:45 PM
Treasury & Reliquary Chapel	9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Entry to the basilica is free. Treasury requires a ticket. Modest dress required. Silence observed near the tomb.

Masses & Events

Daily Masses

7, 8, 9, 10, 11 AM; 12:15, 5, 7 PM

Multiple

Masses daily Pontifical Mass

Jun 13 (feast of St Anthony), 10:30 AM

Presided by the

Bishop of Padua Evening Vespers

6:30 PM daily

Sung by the Franciscan community in the choir

Must See

The Tomb of St Anthony

Cappella del Santo, left transept The marble tomb stands at the centre of the chapel.

Hundreds of ex-votos cover the walls

crutches, plaques, photographs. Pilgrims queue to lay hands on the cold marble: at this touch, the distance between the living and the dead collapses.

The Reliquary Chapel

Adjacent to the Cappella del Santo Contains the incorrupt tongue, chin, and vocal cords of St Anthony in elaborate golden reliquaries. When the tomb was opened in 1263, St Bonaventure raised the tongue and said: O blessed tongue, that always praised the Lord. The vocal cords were also found intact.

The Donatello High Altar Bronzes

High altar, main nave Bronze reliefs completed between 1444 and 1448 depict the life and miracles of St Anthony with extraordinary dramatic power. Together with the bronze crucifix and free-standing statues, they form one of the great programmes of Renaissance religious art.

The Gattamelata Statue

Piazza del Santo [OUTDOOR] Donatello's bronze of the condottiere Gattamelata, unveiled in 1453, was the first large-scale equestrian statue cast in the Renaissance. Standing outside the basilica, it marks the recovery of classical confidence in sculpture.

Frescoes of the Cappella del Beato Luca Belludi

Right side of nave Frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi depicting the miracles of Anthony, including the extraordinary image of the miser's heart found in his money chest

a disturbing parable about what we truly treasure.

Intentions

Carry these intentions into the Basilica with you — pause at each sacred spot and lift them to God.

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For all who invoke St Anthony in their losses — of objects, of faith, of hope

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For the poor, the sick, and the abandoned for whom Anthony was a tireless advocate

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For preachers, teachers, and all who communicate the faith

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For the Franciscan family worldwide

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For Padua and the cities of northern Italy

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For those who have found their way back to God after long absence

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For travellers and those far from home

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For a deepening of devotion to the saints throughout the Church

Reflection

The tongue of St Anthony was found incorrupt. For centuries this struck theologians as a particular sign: the organ he had used to preach the Gospel was preserved. But there is another reading. Anthony's tongue is incorrupt because the words he preached were true. Truth does not decay. The Gospel he proclaimed with that tongue still runs through the world like a living current.

Suggested Scripture — Matthew 10:19-20

Do not worry about what to say. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Read in full on Bible Gateway →

A Pilgrim's Prayer

St Anthony, finder of lost things, I come to you with things I have lost that no map can locate. I have lost certainty about my path, clarity about my calling, and sometimes the sense that God is near. Help me find what I have lost. And in the finding, may I discover that it was never far — only waiting for me to stop, kneel, and ask. Amen.

The Basilica of Sant’Antonio — known to all as Il Santo — is one of the great pilgrimage churches of Christendom, receiving approximately 6.5 million visitors each year. It is the burial place of St Anthony of Padua, who died in 1231, was canonised within a year of his death, and became one of the most beloved saints in all of Catholicism. His tomb draws a continuous stream of pilgrims pressing their hands to the cool marble — the most tactile act of intercession in the Catholic world.

St Anthony

Anthony was born in Lisbon in 1195, but his brief life was spent in Italy in the Franciscan Order. He was a preacher of extraordinary power, a theologian of great depth, and a thaumaturge who became famous throughout Europe within years of his death. He is the patron of the poor, travellers, the sick, and dozens of nations.

Architecture and Relics

The basilica combines Romanesque structure with Byzantine domes and Gothic detail. The Donatello bronze reliefs on the high altar are masterpieces of 15th-century sculpture. The Cappella delle Reliquie preserves Anthony’s chin, tongue and vocal cords — found incorrupt when his tomb was opened in 1263 — in a golden reliquary.