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Saint Anthony The Wonder-Worker of Padua

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This is a beautiful, popular life of St. Anthony, the Patron of Lost Objects, a powerful intercessor and the favorite Saint of many Catholics. Includes all the famous stories about him.

108 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1896

70 people are currently reading
77 people want to read

About the author

Charles Warren Stoddard

58 books4 followers
Charles Warren Stoddard was an American author and editor.

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5 stars
74 (50%)
4 stars
48 (32%)
3 stars
21 (14%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
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0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Fiza Pathan.
Author 42 books391 followers
June 2, 2022
It is very difficult to procure books on the biography or life story of St. Anthony which is something really startling, considering what a popular Catholic Saint he is. I came across this book in the year 2018 & only managed to get to read it this week. I actually wanted to read this book in 2007 when I was 18 years old, but at that time the book was not available at my local Catholic bookstore. Considering the universal devotion to this Doctor of the Church, Saint Anthony has very few biographies out of which Charles Warren Stoddard's edition is very interesting to read & very informative. From the early vocation of Saint Anthony to his miracles like giving a sermon to the fish, the chapters or stories contained in this book are very accurate & well arranged. The book is a quick read & one tends to admire the sanctity of Saint Anthony especially considering his contribution to mystical theology. There is a mention of the Bible Pslam commentaries of Saint Anthony in this book by Stoddard which I will try to search to procure & read. It would be very interesting to read the Bible commentaries of this very humble but highly gifted Saint. He seemed to have learnt the Bible by heart, which is a motivating factor for any reader who wishes to study their Bible closely. Saint Anthony, as this book states, was also devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus & the Assumption of Mother Mary which was very revealing to read. The book is short, written with great devotion & dedication. I'm sure the author would have had to go through a lot of trouble to get the information required for this book & so I respect his perseverance. I just wanted the book to be longer & more detailed. I will continue my search for more English written biographies of the life of Saint Anthony of Padua. As I said, it is very difficult to get books based on his life, so if you are able to get this copy, I highly recommend that you buy it pronto before it goes off the shelf. I highly recommend the book to all devotees of Saint Anthony who wish to know a little more about his extraordinary life. 'St. Anthony: The Wonder Worker of Padua' gets 5 stars from me.
Profile Image for Mary.
92 reviews29 followers
May 21, 2019
Not too shabby. Although sometimes i do find that the author wonders off into things.... other than this fault, this is a good starter introducing Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony - pray for us!!!
Profile Image for Galicius.
986 reviews
October 20, 2018
This is a biography of St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
I previously read one other work of Stoddard, The Lepers of Molokai, which was rather spellbinding. . .
The author says in Chapter X that Anthony of Padua was the real author of “The Imitation of Christ” that is attributed to Thomas a Kempis. . .
St. Anthony inspired and is even sometimes considered by some such as St. Bonaventure, and Pope Gregory IX as the father of the school of theology known as “mystic”. (p. 56)

The author describes the encounter of St. Anthony with a violent feudal noble Ezzelino who was responsible for the deaths of dome 12,000 citizens in this Northeastern part of Italy. . .
He was acclaimed as a great preacher and theologian. . .
The author describes how it came about that St. Anthony is associated with Christ-Child. . .
St. Anthony is also known as a patron to rescue things lost or stolen. . .
The author visits Padua and describes it—it was before 1896 and it had a population of 50,000 . . .
St. Anthony traveled much but chose Padua as his permanent place of residence. . .
St. Anthony sought martyrdom earlier in his life when he traveled to Morocco to convert the Moors which meant a certain death. . .
The author concludes with an overall assessment of St. Anthony’s life, examples of his miracles, movement of his grave through several churches built in his honor.
Profile Image for Ken.
42 reviews
September 30, 2008
All I can say here is WOW! What an amazing person & lover of God. St. Anthony did some many things to bring many people into the church. He wa sspiritual beyond belief & had a tremendous grasp of scripture with a photographic memory. He also performed many, many miracles in the name of Christ most of which I had no idea about.
I must read more about him.
Profile Image for J. .
382 reviews46 followers
October 16, 2013
I enjoyed reading this book. Saint Anthony is my Patron Saint who I choose during my Confirmation. I am very happy to have him as my Patron Saint all the more after reading a biography on his life and works in Charity to God and Neighbor. I can only hope to live up his standard. So I say,

Saint Anthony, Pray for Me!
18 reviews9 followers
October 24, 2014
St. Anthony is a favorite of mine. He has helped me in many situations. God bless him.
Profile Image for Tech Nossomy.
440 reviews6 followers
April 3, 2021
A biography of Saint Anthony, who as I learned from this book, reached sainthood so early after his death, that his mother and two sisters who survived him saw festivities being organised in his honour by merit of their son/brother.
The subject matter of the book seems to deviate from all other works of this American author, who at that point had only written of travels through mostly the Americas. The author once himself claimed that all of his works contain autobiographical elements and perhaps this is what makes the deviation plausible.
Given the many claims of legend surrounding Saint Anthony, which are stated without additional evidence, the book is not particularly scholarly.
454 reviews4 followers
April 12, 2018
This biography of St. Anthony was written in another age when saints were truly venerated. I read this as part of my Lenten spiritual reading and was truly edified by the life of St. Anthony. Even if you don't believe all the wonders written about him, he loved Jesus and dedicated his life to Him. He truly is a saint!
Profile Image for Matthew.
45 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2018
Good background on an interesting semi-historical figure.

Worded in understandable language but with context for the time. Im very impressed with this translation/chronicle. If youre looking for to read about St Anthony this is a great place to start.
Profile Image for Mike Kaminski.
27 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2019
Best one

Probably the best book about the saint ever written. I highly recommend this work. I enjoyed it very much, well written.
Author 3 books1 follower
March 4, 2019
I always invoked him for help finding lost things, but I never imagined the depth and beauty and holiness of him and his life. I am so glad I read this. My devotion to him has grown exponentially.
Profile Image for Griffin.
202 reviews2 followers
April 13, 2019
Good breadth of information but the authors tendency towards romanticizing everything and purple prose at times made it less enjoyable than it could've been
Profile Image for Cathy.
78 reviews
May 8, 2021
Originally published in 1896, this is a fun, short read about St. Anthony of Padua. Now I want to read some of his writings.
Profile Image for Rita Mantone.
6 reviews2 followers
April 30, 2022
Love This Saint

St. Anthony loves us and wants to help us in our needs. Get close to him, share your life with him. Read this book and glorify God in his wonder worker St. Anthony.
106 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2023
I learned so much from this small book (108 pages) about the miracles that God performed through St. Anthony. I enjoyed how it was divided into very short chapters.
Profile Image for Nick Anderson.
46 reviews6 followers
January 9, 2025
Another case where I just feel like I need a better depiction of his life because I know how great a Saint he is, but the book just wasn’t all the way what I wanted.
Profile Image for Alan.
190 reviews3 followers
January 20, 2026
You get what you paid for, and I think Charles Warren can fit more than a sufficient amount of detail about this saints life in such a little book. It’s not the most comprehensive biography, of course. But it’s a nice and small read that makes for a good and pious moment of leisure. It’s certainly a bonus if you can get this book on a sale!

Here, you will get to know why this Anthony was so important and how his very life impacted a plethora of people. As well as his inspiration, call, and example that led him to be the charitable and most esteemed character in a time such as the Middle Ages. He looked to others, such as his Franciscan and Augustinian companions for inspiration, just as he was observed by many more, and moved them into being as religious as he was.
25 reviews2 followers
November 16, 2014
Fairly good book on St Anthony. Book begins written like a poem with an over abundance of words and descriptors to tell simple facts. The extraneous words are reduced about 1/3 of the way in and that is where the book really picks up steam with good information on this saint. The prose picks up again towards the end. The writing style was not for me, but the underlying information was mostly worthwhile.
87 reviews2 followers
August 4, 2014
This book is more of a condensed version of the life of St. Anthony. Which was a little disappointing
6 reviews3 followers
March 2, 2015
St Anthony

Because this is a translated work, the translation is not an easy read. But, it is enjoyable still.
My patron saint.
Profile Image for Bobbi.
13 reviews
August 14, 2025
Excellent

This is a wonderfully written book! I am so happy I read it and now have a new Saint to pray too. All I can say is he was truly blessed and continues to bless ♥️
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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