A land ablaze, a people in torment. This was the south of France at the time of St. Anthony. The cause of so much agitation can be attributed to the political and social struggle between orthodox Catholics and the heretical Albigensian sect, which had taken root there decades earlier.
The papacy united its strength with those worldly powers that saw the economic advantage of such an alliance, and together they fought the heresy. However, the persecutions that raged for over 20 years were to no avail.

What drew the people back to the true religion was the witness and preaching of the Cistercians, Dominicans and Franciscans, who gave their all to this work in true accordance with the teachings of charity. Eminent among them was St. Anthony.

Where the battle rages

There is no sure information concerning Anthony's time in France. There is, however, one fixed date, 1226, when Anthony established a Franciscan friary in Limoges.

Coming from Bologna, Anthony passed through Provence to Languedoc, then to Limoges and Berry.

Here he found a region troubled by the Albigensian heresy, decimated by the crusades and rife with power struggles

Since January 1217, Pope Honorius III had been encouraging the professors of theology in Paris to confront the Albigensian movement.

Anthony was thus sent, probably accompanied by qualified friars, at the suggestion of the Minister General who had been informed of the situation by friars living in the area, and under pressure from the papal curia

Anthony became a theology teacher and preacher in Montpellier, a distinguished university and a stronghold of Catholic orthodoxy. Dominicans and Franciscans were trained here both pastorally and intellectually, preparing themselves for the preaching of sermons to heretics throughout the country.

Arles: St. Francis appears as Anthony preaches

The fact is certain, but the date is unclear. The historian Thomas of Celano recalls how Friar John of Florence, chosen by St. Francis as Minister Provincial of the friars of Provence, celebrated a provincial chapter, either in the second half of 1224, or in the first half of the following year.
During the assembly, Anthony gave a fervent sermon on the Passion of Christ. As he spoke, Friar Monaldo received a vision of "the blessed Francis raised in ecstasy above them with his arms extended in the form of the cross, in the act of blessing his friars". Saint Anthony's sermon was on the mystery of the Crucifixion of Christ, in particular on the inscription: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John, 19,19).

It is very probable that this sermon was delivered on one of the days marked by the mystery of the cross: Good Friday, 28 March 1225; the finding of the Cross (Inventio crucis) on 2 May 1225; or even (and this would be particularly significant) the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross in 1224, the very day on which St. Francis received the stigmata.

Anthony in Toulouse and Limoges

Toulouse lies in the present day province of Haute-Garonne and has ancient origins. Anthony's itinerant apostolate could not but echo throughout an ideological cross-roads such as Toulouse.
It is more than likely that in this neo-Manichaean stronghold Anthony taught theology to the friars. Around 1226, Anthony moved further north, to Limoges. He stayed in the abbey of Solignac, on the Briance, which belongs to the diocese of Limoges, and here he performed a miracle for the monk who served as his nurse.

Limoges remains one of the most important places in Anthony's life because he held the position of custos (superior) of the Franciscans of the city and its environs. While we are certain that Anthony was the custos of Limoges, this fact has to be accepted with a certain degree of circumspection since the evidence was only recorded some seventy years later. According to a chronicle of the Friary of St. Martial, in Limoges, Anthony gave his first speech in the cemetery of St. Paul taking as his text Psalm 29.6. He preached a second sermon in the Friary of St. Martin using Psalm 54.7, "Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly and find rest?" It was in Limoges that another astonishing event occurred in the Church of St. Pierre-du-Queyroix. At about midnight on Holy Thursday, St. Anthony was transported among his friars to sing the liturgy since it was his responsibility.

In Bourges, Le Puy and elsewhere

The year 1226 saw Anthony establishing a friary in Brive. It was here that Anthony found the necessary peace to restore his strength after the exhausting labours of preaching. He withdrew to some caves just outside the town. Here he dedicated himself to penance and contemplation.

After his death, his memory was kept alive among the inhabitants of Brive, and the caves where he stayed have become a place of pilgrimage

Although having been confiscated by the state during the uncertain times following the French Revolution, the sanctuary of Brive was bought back by the friars in 1874 and re-consecrated in 1895. Since then it has become the national centre of Anthonian devotion in France.

The superb cathedral of Bourges, a gothic jewel, welcomed Anthony the missionary. He also went to Le-Puy-en-Velay, in the present-day province of Haute-Loire, at the foot of Mount Anisan. It is uncertain whether or not he held the position of guardian of the community here. It is impossible to say when St. Anthony returned to Italy, why he returned or where he lived as he continued on his missionary pilgrimage. Anthonian biographers state that his return to Italy would have been for the occasion of the General Chapter, held at Pentecost in Assisi 30 May 1227.

St. Francis had died the previous year on the evening of 3 October 1226. Thus the assembly had to elect a new Minister General.

As custos of the Limoges region, Anthony would have been required to take part in the chapter in which the St. Francis' successor was to be chosen. Other biographers believe that Anthony may not have actually been custos of the chapter at the time, but rather was recalled to Italy by Friar Elias or Friar Giovanni Parenti. All that is known is that, on his way to Italy, he crossed Provence on foot.