ABSTRACT
Of all Christian saints, St. Anthony had the strongest ties to Portugal and, partly for that reason, he had closer connections to Brazil than any other saint. He was born in Lisbon on August 15, 1195, near the cathedral in a house that is today a shrine. St. Anthony was born to a prominent noble family, the son of Martinho or Martim Bulhoes and Teresa Taveira, and was given the name Fernando at baptism. Hagiographers recount that as a young man he was nearly seduced by a Jewish girl, but he managed to repel her advances by crossing himself. He remained chaste until the end of his life. Fernando attended the Lisbon Cathedral school and in 1210 concluded his studies in humanities and joined the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine at the St. Vincent Monastery. In 1212 he left for Coimbra and entered the Holy Cross Monastery, where he dedicated himself to the study of philosophy and theology. He specialized in Holy Scripture and was ordained a priest.
