The
pilgrimage to "Anthonian shrines" is not complete
by merely visiting St. Anthony's tomb and the Basilica
where it is located; there are other shrines of merit:
Camposampiero, where St. Anthony spent his final
days, and Arcella where he left this life.
Camposampiero
Camposampiero
is an important town in the province of Padua, just twenty
kilometres from the city. In St. Anthony's day it was
a village which housed the castle of Count Tiso IV,
who was converted by St. Anthony's preaching. The count
convinced the Saint to retire there in order to rest,
and recover his strength of body and spirit. The Saint
went there in May of 1231.
Outside the walls of the castle there was a hermitage
where the friars used to stay, and with them, St. Anthony.
However, St. Anthony decided he wanted more peace and
quiet, so he had a small tree-house built in the branches
of a walnut tree. "The man of God, having one
day admired the beauty of the tree, immediately, upon
inspiration of the Spirit, decided to have a cell constructed
in the walnut tree, because the tree offered unbelievable
solitude and quiet for contemplation. As soon as he heard
tell of the Saint's wish from the other friars, the nobleman
tied down poles to the branches and, with his own hands,
constructed a cell of mats."
Camposampiero
is also the place of another famous event in St. Anthony's
life: his vision of the baby Jesus. It is an
event which, more than any other, characterizes the
contemplative spirituality of St. Anthony. The Book
of Miracles says:
Blessed Anthony found himself in a city to preach and
was put up by a local resident. He gave him a room set
apart, so that he could study and contemplate undisturbed.
[…] While he was devotedly observing the room in
which St. Anthony had immersed himself in prayer, peeping
through the window, he saw a beautiful joyful baby appear
in blessed Anthony's arms. That baby was the Lord Jesus.
In
remembrance of these two facts, there are two churches
in Camposampiero: the Shrine of the Vision and
the Shrine of the Walnut Tree.
The Shrine of the Vision
After St. Anthony's death the residents of Camposampiero
wanted to preserve the places made holy by the presence
of the Saint. The original chapel where St. Anthony
had prayed, celebrated Mass and preached, dedicated to
St. John the Baptist, was completely renovated and
enlarged in 1437. The new church was a destination
of continuous pilgrimage by those devoted to St. Anthony,
always warmly welcomed by the friars who have constantly
been open to the needs of the pilgrims.
In 1769 the Veneto Senate ordered the closing of many
monasteries including that of Camposampiero.
The complex (consisting of church, friary and farmland)
was given back to the descendants of the Camposampiero
family. They did not provide much upkeep of the church,
which for the most part was demolished due to vandalism
by the French in 1798. After various owners, the City
Government, which took ownership of the Anthonian
Shrines in 1854, became responsible for the upkeep.
On
17 October 1895,after being called back
by the people and civil authorities, the Franciscan
Minors Conventual, once again took possession of the shrine.
The
presence of the friars gave back a new life to the shrine.
A new church was designed by Augusto Zardo, and
the cornerstone was laid on 26 December, 1906.
The building was enlarged in 1965.
The Cell of the Vision
The
present-day Shrine of the Vision houses the room/cell
where St. Anthony's vision took place, having survived
the ravages of time. The actual cell has been transformed
into a chapel. A narrow staircase leads to the cell,
a modest structure in brick, which belonged to the original
friary where St. Anthony lived.
A long board is kept there, enclosed under glass;
it is believed to have been used by St. Anthony as
a bed.
At the back of the room there is an altar with a painting
which recounts the vision. To the side there is a painting
by Andrea de Murano (1486) portraying the life-size
figure of St. Anthony with his usual symbols, the
lily and the book, representing his purity and his teachings.
It
is the most important place in the entire complex, and
is dear to the faithful due to the supernatural event
that transpired here when blessed Anthony enjoyed the
vision of the baby Jesus. For that reason the cell is
called the little "Anthonian Bethlehem".
In 1924 the small building was restored, giving it back
the original aspect of the 1300's. With the restoration
of 1995, an alcove was created on the ground
floor to house relics.
USEFUL
INFORMATION
Telephone
+ 39 049 93 15 711
Visiting
Hours of the Shrine
Every
day: 6:45 am - 12:00 pm; 3:30 - 7:00 pm
Mass
Schedule
Weekdays:
7:00 am - 8:00 am - 9:00 am. (Morning prayers:
7:30 am; Vespers: 7:00 pm)
Sundays:
7:00 am - 8:00 am - 9:15 am - 10:30 am
Sacrament
of Reconciliation
Priests
are present every day to administer the Sacrament
of Reconciliation or for spiritual direction
from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 3:30 to 6:30
pm (summer: 4:30-7:15 pm).
Special
celebrations
Wedding
anniversaries and the entrusting of children
to St. Anthony's protection are welcome.
Special group celebrations are possible.
Spiritual retreats, are available upon advance
reservation at the near-by retreat house Casa
di spiritualità.
Group
accommodations are also available in proximity
of the shrine. Several friars are on hand to
welcome groups.
Pilgrim
meeting rooms
The
shrine has meeting halls as well as large and
spacious dining rooms and a lecture hall where
films about St. Anthony are shown.
The
Crypt
The
permanent Nativity crèche and a missionary
exhibit are open on Sundays.
Store
and bookshop
Objects
which can sustain and reinforce the faith such
as sacred images, souvenirs of the shrine, as
well as a vast assortment of books and can be
found here.
It
is possible to make reservations for groups
to celebrate a Holy Mass or other special functions
at the shrine.
Subscriptions
to the magazine can also be made here.
The
Magazine "Santuari antoniani" (Anthonian
Shrines)
This
is a monthly publication by the shrines and
the convent of the Poor Clares.
The Shrine of the Walnut Tree
Walking along the tree lined lane from the square
in front of the church one arrives at the Oratory
of the Walnut Tree, built where there once stood
the tree known as the last dwelling place of the
Saint. The building dates to 1400: it is a jewel
of art especially owing to the presence of the frescoes
which cover the façade (both outside and
inside) and the walls near the first span of columns.
They are the work of Girolamo Tessari (known
as Dal Santo) who painted them during the first
half of the 1500s. They depict episodes from
St. Anthony's life, especially his more widely-known
miracles.
The apse houses a beautiful painting by Bonifacio
da Verona (1536) which shows St. Anthony preaching
from the walnut tree.
This is presently the church where the Poor Clares
from the adjoining convent come to pray. In fact,
adjacent to the Shrine of the Walnut Tree is a building
constructed in 1967 which is the convent
of the Poor Clares and which ideally continues the
life-style that St. Anthony lead here at Camposampiero,
reminding us all of the unsurpassed value of prayer.
Arcella
The Shrine of Arcella
Today, Arcella is a populated neighbourhood in the city
of Padua, situated along the road which leads north
to Camposampiero.
At the time of St. Anthony, it was a small village
just outside the city walls called Capo di Ponte, where
there was a small church, Santa Maria della Cella;
next to this was a convent of the Poor Clares and a
hermitage where a few friars minor lived. Tradition
states that this primitive friary was founded in 1220
by St. Francis upon his return from the Holy Land. Saint Anthony was brought here during his final moments
on the evening of 13 June 1231, while he was being
transported from Camposampiero to Padua.
This is where
he died. "Finding the Saint there, the hand of
the Lord descended upon him, increasing his suffering
with great violence, creating much anxiety. After a brief
rest, having received the Sacrament of Confession and
absolution, he began to sing a hymn to the Blessed Mother,
O Glorious Lady. As he finished, raising his eyes to heaven
with a look of ecstasy, he stared straight ahead. When
his fellow friar who was holding him asked what he saw,
he replied 'I see my Lord'. At last, that holy
soul, freed from the prison of the flesh, was absorbed
in the abyss of light." (Vita Assidua).
The
cell where St. Anthony died is preserved inside
a large church built by E. Maestri in 1895 on the
site of previous structures and enlarged in 1930
by N. Gallimberti.
In the unadorned cell the only decoration is a statue
of the dying St. Anthony sculpted by R. Rinaldi
in 1808.
Also preserved in the church are the remains of Blessed
Elena Enselmini, a young Paduan nun who lived at the
convent of the Poor Clares in Arcella at the time of St.
Anthony and who died a Saint.
The
harmonious architectural lines of the present church
represent an intelligent and controlled use of the neo-gothic
style of clear Italian and Franciscan inspiration.
The
exterior is entirely made of exposed brick, embellished
by sober decorations in stone which reflect elements
from the Romanesque and Gothic styles of the Veneto
region. The balanced play of masses in the transept
and the apse culminate in the dome which rises 40 meters
high in a well-proportioned curve, covered in copper
sheeting.
The
interior continues the use of brick as the main
decorative element of the arches which are coloured
red and white, the colours of the city of Padua.
The cross vaults of the nave and transept define a space
which is pulled upwards by the bright volume of the
dome, a virtual open sky over the cell of the transit
of the Saint. These intersecting vaults exalt the
dome making it the fulcrum of the temple which closes
with the great apse containing the choir of the friars.
Austere and solemn, the interior is at the same time
made warm and bright by the sunlit walls and the colour
of the brick. The present-day shrine is the work
of two architects who from 1886 to 1931 were responsible
for its design and for overseeing its construction:
Eugenio Maestri and Nino Gallimberti.
They gave the church an original imprint of high refinement
and controlled style, creating one of the most interesting
examples of Italian neo-gothic architecture at the end
of the nineteenth century.
The tall and narrow monumental bell tower which
flanks the church (75m high) was designed by the Paduan
architect Agostino Miozzo in 1898-99 and
inaugurated in 1922 with the placing of the enormous
statue of St. Anthony (6m tall) on its
pinnacle. This statue is the work of the sculptor Silvio
Righetti from Verona. In the bell tower there is
a group of eight bells (5,850 kg of bronze), in a perfect
musical scale. They were cast by the Cavadini foundry
in Verona.
The
Shrine in Arcella has a long and tortuous history
which can be found , elsewhere.
Today it serves as a parish, one of the largest
in the city of Padua.
Visiting
hours
Sundays:
8am-12pm; 3:30-8:30pm.
Weekdays:
7am-12pm; 3:30-7:00pm.
Mass
schedule
Sundays
8:30am;
10am; 11:30am; 6pm; 7:30pm; Vespers at 5:00pm.
